File image of Neeraj Chopra© Twitter
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra became the world number one for the first time in his career in the latest men’s javelin throw rankings issued by the World Athletics. Chopra topped the charts with 1455 points, 22 ahead of Grenada’s reigning world champion Anderson Peters (1433). Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic was third with 1416 points.
The 25-year-old Chopra rose to world number two on August 30 last year but was stuck behind Peters since then.
In September last year, Neeraj Chopra won the Diamond League 2022 finals in Zurich, becoming the first Indian to win the prestigious trophy.
He won the title at the season-opening Doha Diamond League on May 5 with a throw of 88.67m.
He will next compete at the FBK Games on June 4 in the Netherlands, followed by the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on June 13.
Chopra, who had bagged the 2022 Diamond League final trophy last year, won the season-opening first round with a best throw of 88.67m to beat a star-studded field at the Qatar Sports Club. “It was a very hard win, but I’m happy, it’s a really good start for me,” Chopra said then.
“This season I’ll stay fit and consistent and I’ll try to do my best in next competitions. I plan to stay fit and do more than I can,” added Chopra, who has his eyes set on breaching the coveted 90m mark.
Chopra’s current training base is at Antalya, Turkey.
“I hope to come in the first place in the next competitions and to keep consistency during this season,” the Indian superstar said.
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