There is excitement in the air with the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics around the corner, as the sporting event officially kicks off on July 26.
The Indian contingent will be eager to replicate their performances from that last edition of the Olympic games, Tokyo 2020 games in 2021, where they won a historic tally of seven medals.
One of India's leading athletes and javelin star Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal last time around and will be defending his crown at the Paris 2024 games.
He is not only an Olympic and World champion, but also one of the favourites to bring back a medal for his country this year and while he is a top contender, the path to wining the gold again is not going to be easy.
In this article, The Sporting News looks at a list of Neeraj Chopra's top rivals in the Men's Javelin throw event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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Who are Neeraj Chopra's top rivals at the Paris 2024 Olympics' Javelin throw event?
Here is a list of Neeraj Chopra's top rivals at the Paris 2024 Olympics' Men's javelin throw event, who can spoil his party, when he walks out at Stade de France to defend his gold medal:
Jakub Vadlejch (Czech Republic)
Jakub Vadlejch is currently World No 1 men's javelin throw and is also the reigning European champion. He has shared the podium with Neeraj multiple times in recent years including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where he was the silver medalist.
Recently at the Doha Diamond League (Qatar) in May 2024, Jakub pipped Neeraj for the gold medal by a small margin of 2 centimeters, with a throw of 88.38. He has five podium finishers in all five events that he has participated this year, in 2024.
Season Best: 87 meters at ASA Athletics Grand Prix 1, McArthur Stadium, Potchefstroom (South Africa)
Julian Weber (Germany)
Ranked third in the world, Julian Weber is a strong contender for Paris 2024. He finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and will be hoping to finish in the medals bracket this time around.
He has five podium finishes in five events this year, including four gold medals, as he finished with a silver medal at the European Championships, behind Jakub Vadlejch.
Weber also won a gold at the recent Paris Diamond League in July, with a throw of 85.91m.
Season Best: 88.37 meters at Anhalt 2024 - 26. Internationales Leichtathletik Meeting, Paul-Greifzu-Stadion, Dessau (Germany)
Anderson Peters (Grenada)
Anderson Peters, who is currently ranked fifth best in the world, has crossed the 90m mark four times in his career, all of which came in the year 2022.
However, he suffered an injury due to an accident and was out of the international circuit for a while, but he made a comeback earlier this year at the Doha Diamond League (Qatar), with a throw of 88.62m.
He was also the silver medalist at the recently concluded Paris Diamond League, in July, with a throw of 85.19m, making him one of the top contenders for the podium at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Season Best: 86.62 meters at Seashore Group Doha Meeting, Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha Diamond League (Qatar)
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Oliver Helander (Finland)
Ranked fourth in the world rankings, Finnish javelin star Oliver Helander had finished third at the European Championships earlier this year but missed out on a podium finish at the Doha Diamond League, where Neeraj participated.
Season Best: 85.75 meters at European Athletics Championships, Stadio Olimpico, Roma
Max Dehning (Germany)
Max Dehning might be only 19 years old, but he can be major contender at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He is the only javelin thrower to breach the 90m mark this season, with a 90.20 throw at the German Winter championships.
Season Best: 90.20 meters at German Winter Throwing Championships, Werferzentrum Brandberge, Halle
Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan)
Another athlete from South Asia who is likely to challenge Neeraj at the Paris 2024 games is Arshad Nadeem, who won gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2022
Unliked Neeraj, Nadeem has breached the 90m mark in the past with a throw of 90.18m at the CWG in 2022. However, Neeraj did not participate in that tournament as he was ruled out due to an injury.
This will be one of the rivalries to watch out for at the upcoming games.
Season Best: 84.21 meters at Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris Diamond League (France)
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