Olympic and World Champion Neeraj Chopra continued his fine form by clinching gold at the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025, a World Athletics Gold-level meet held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday.
Cheered on by a roaring home crowd of over 14,000 spectators, Chopra registered a best throw of 86.18m to top the podium at the event named in his honour. Kenya’s former world champion Julius Yego took silver with a season-best of 84.51m, while Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka claimed bronze with a personal best of 84.34m.
The 27-year-old Indian star, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and silver in Paris 2024, overcame a shaky start after beginning with a foul. He found his rhythm in the second attempt with 82.99m before thrilling the crowd on his third try with the evening’s longest throw of 86.18m.
He later threw 84.07m in his fifth attempt and ended with 82.22m, while his fourth was another foul.
Addressing the crowd after his win, Chopra said, “Thank you, Bengaluru, for coming tonight. There was a headwind, so the marks weren’t huge. But this was a different experience — organising and competing at the same time. I was a bit nervous and not entirely satisfied with the result, but happy overall. My family was here too, which made it special.”
This victory continues Chopra’s impressive 2025 season. He opened the year by winning the Potch Invitational Meet in South Africa, followed by a runner-up finish at the Doha Diamond League, where he breached the 90m mark for the first time with a 90.23m throw, setting a new national record.
He went on to place second at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland before reclaiming top form with wins at the Paris Diamond League and the Ostrava Golden Spike, where he threw 88.16m and 85.29m respectively.
The Neeraj Chopra Classic marked the first time a global athletics event was named after an active Indian athlete, and Chopra’s victory ensured it ended on a high for the host nation.
