Indian Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has become the world number one men's javelin thrower in the latest rankings issued by World Athletics. The 25-year-old leads the rankings with a score of 1,455. Second-placed Anderson Peters of Grenada has a score of 1,433. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem is ranked fifth.
Chopra began his 2023 season by winning Doha Diamond League with an 88.67-metre throw. In September last year, Neeraj Chopra won the Diamond League 2022 finals in Zurich, becoming the first Indian athlete to win the prestigious Diamond League trophy. However, he was out of action with an injury following the triumph in Zurich.
The No 1 ranking will come as a boost for Neeraj Chopra, who will next compete at the FBK Games 2023 on June 4 in the Netherlands. He also confirmed his participation at the Paavo Nurmi Games 2023 in Turku, Finland, on June 13.
With the Paris 2024 Olympics approaching, the 2023 season promises to be a crucial one for Neeraj Chopra.
Besides defending his Diamond League crown and the Asian Games javelin gold medal at Hangzhou, Neeraj Chopra will also compete at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
The Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, silver medallist from Tokyo 2020, is third in the latest rankings with 1,416 points followed by Germany’s Julian Webber. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion, completes the top five.
Rohit Yadav, world No. 15, and DP Manu, world No. 17, are the other Indian javelin throwers in the top 20.