Can Neeraj Chopra defend his crown at Asian Games - Who are the other Indian athletes looking to defend their title?

All eyes were on Neeraj Chopra at the Diamond League final in Eugene earlier in September. 

The Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra was in action for the first time since his gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in August and there was optimism in the air that he would clinch the top spot in the Diamond League as well.

MORE: Bet on your favourite sports here

However, his performance was rather disappointing as he finished second in the final, with a mark of 83.80m. Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic took home the gold medal as he managed to throw 84.01m. 

Chopra himself was unhappy with his performance and he minced no words to express his disappointment of not being able to put his best foot forward.

"I am not happy with my throw. The position does not matter. But I am not happy with my throw. I will try my best in the Asian Games. I didn't feel good with any of my throws. Even in my warm-up throws I was not feeling good. But it's okay. It happened after a long time. I was very consistent. But it will teach me something and I will improve," he said. 

MORE: How Neeraj Chopra won gold at Tokyo Olympics

Can Neeraj Chopra win Gold in the 2023 Asian Games?

Chopra is the defending champion in men's javelin after he clinched gold in Jakarta in 2018.

After finishing with a below-par performance in the Diamond League finals, he vowed to come back stronger in the Asain meet in China. 

“I still have one more competition, the Asian Games in China. In big competition I think always it’s about mindset; in big competition, we don’t need to prepare ourselves. When we enter the stadium, our mind is ready and our body will be ready for the competition," he roared.

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem will be Chopra's top competitor for the gold spot as his European counterparts will not compete in the continental event. Nadeem is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, won silver at the World Championships in Budapest and bagged the bronze in the 2018 Asian Games.

However, if Chopra performs to his potential then he should be able to defend his title.

With a career personal best throw of 89.94m, Chopra had not yet crossed the 90m mark in the javelin throw. Only 23 athletes have ever done it, and at the Asian Games, he will be eager to break the mark and set a new national record. 

MORE: How many javelin throwers have breached the 90m mark?

When will Neeraj Chopra perform in the 2023 Asian Games?

Chopra will be in action on October 4 in the men's javelin throw final in the Asian Games along with Kishore Jena. The event is likely to start at 3:30 p.m. IST. 

Who are the other Indian athletes looking to defend their title in the Asian Games?

India had won 16 gold medals in the 2018 Asian Games which was its highest tally at the Games. They also won 23 silver and 31 bronze to finish with 70 medals.

Here is the list of athletes who will look to defend their gold medals.