Neeraj Chopra’s team on Thursday night confirmed the list of international athletes for a first-of-its-kind Category A javelin event in India, the eponymous NC Classic to be held in Bengaluru on May 24.
Aside from the Paris Olympics gold medallist being absent, there is still enough starpower in the final international lineup in the men’s javelin only event. The list of Indian contenders – apart from Neeraj Chopra, of course – is still to be confirmed.
Anderson Peters (Grenada): Neeraj Chopra and Anderson Peters go way back. They have been competing against each other since 2016, starting from the IAAF U20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It was Neeraj’s first international breakthrough as he threw 86.48m to create a new Junior World Record that still stands. That day at Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium, Peters had finished with a bronze medal. Peters has since gone on to become a two-time World Champion (2019, 2022), and has repeatedly shown an ability to come up with explosive throws, boasting a personal best of 93.07m which he achieved in Doha in May 2022. In the 21 events that they have competed Head-to-Head, Neeraj has gotten the better of Peters 15 times, but the 27-year-old from Grenada has had some crucial wins ahead of Neeraj, like at the 2022 World Championships, where he pipped the Indian star to a gold. Peters faced a significant spell away from the circuit after suffering serious injuries during a brawl on a boat in 2022, but has since come back close to his best, finishing with bronze in Paris behind Arshad and Neeraj.
Thomas Röhler (Germany): Part of the fearsome group of javelin throwers from Germany alongside Johannes Vetter and Andreas Hofmann, Rohler is one of the OGs. The 2016 Olympic Champion is considered one of the sport’s all-time greats. Between 2016 and 2018, Rohler had a best mark of 90m+ seven different times, with a personal best of 93.90m. He has been struggling with injuries in recent years though, going past 80m just once in 2024 and didn’t participate in Paris but has been gearing up towards a comeback.
Julius Yego (Kenya): The man often referred to as Mr. YouTube in javelin circles, Yego is a pioneer in this discipline, much like Neeraj, achieving plenty of firsts for Kenya. From a country known for track event specialists, Yego was a pathbreaker in javelin throw. His initial dreams were to become an endurance runner too but after getting lapped in a 10,000m race when he was 13 he decided to change from track to field. With a lack of coaching expertise in that event growing up, he spent hours on YouTube learning from the likes of two-time Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen and 2007 World Champion Tero Pitkamaki on YouTube to learn technical skills. He then went on to spend time in Finland under an IAAF Scholarship where he refined it further. He went on to become World Champion (2015) and Olympic silver medallist (2016). He is pqast his prime but boasts of a best mark at 92.72m.
Curtis Thompson (USA): The 2025 athletics season, especially for javelin throw, is in its infancy but the early marker has been laid down by America’s Thompson. Having been around since 2013, Thompson’s rise has been steady rather than spectacular. He crossed 80m+ for the first time in 2021, and earlier this year threw a new personal best in Austin, Texas, the world-leading mark currently at 87.76m.
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Genki Dean (Japan): While Japan boasts of arguably the best female javelin thrower in the world right now in Haruka Kitaguchi, Dean has been a solid competitor for a while on the men’s side. He is the Asian Games 2023 bronze medallist, and has a personal best of 84.28m
Luiz Mauricio da Silva (Brazil): A finalist at Paris 2024, Brazil’s da Silva has a personal best of 85.91m. While Arshad set the new Olympic record on that famous night at Stade de France, da Silva was the other record-setter as he broke his own South American record.
Rumesh Pathirage (Sri Lanka): A rising star from Sri Lanka, Pathirage has a personal best of 85.45 and is already the second best Sri Lankan when it comes to men’s javelin throw, behind only Sumedha Ranasinghe.