Neeraj Chopra is scheduled to compete in the Ostrava Golden Spike Athletics Meet on May 28.
After securing second place at the Doha Diamond League and winning a gold medal at the Federation Cup, Indian Olympic, and World Champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is set for his third competition of the season at the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet on May 28 in Czechia. This event, part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold label, is in its 63rd edition. On his journey to the Paris Olympics 2024, Neeraj began his season with an impressive 88.36 m throw in Doha on May 11, narrowly missing the top spot to Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch by 2 centimeters.
In his first national appearance since his Tokyo Olympic gold, Neeraj won the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar with a throw of 82.27 m, overcoming DP Manu’s initial lead despite dealing with fatigue and extensive travel. The Ostrava competition will feature a strong lineup, including Vadlejch and former World Champion Anderson Peters from Grenada, who also competed against Neeraj in Doha.
Neeraj had to withdraw from last year’s Ostrava meet due to a muscle injury, where Vadlejch won with an 81.93 m throw. The current meet also includes other global stars like Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, Olympic 100m champion, Gianmarco Tamberi, Olympic co-champion in high jump, and Mondo Duplantis, world record-holding pole vaulter. Following Ostrava, Neeraj is expected to compete in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on June 18, a top-tier World Athletics event. Neeraj won silver at this event last year with a then personal best of 89.30 m, later surpassing it with an 89.94 m throw in Stockholm, setting a national record.
