Neeraj Chopra will compete in his first competition, called NC Classic, at home after over a year.
It has been 374 years since Chopra competed at home with the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar in May 2024, being his last event.
The World Athletics and Athletics Federation Of India-backed category A event will take place at the Panchkula’s Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex on May 24.
“I can confirm the Neeraj Chopra Classic, a Category A World Athletics competition, featuring Neeraj Chopra and world’s other top javelin throwers, will take place on May 24 at Panchkula,” AFI president Bahadur Singh Sagootold The Indian Express. “The other formalities of the competition will be finalised in the coming days.”
The Haryana native began his practice session in South Africa under his new coach Jan Zelezny, the three-time Olympic and world champion and the current world record holder.
“Neeraj has trained at Panchkula for most part of his junior career and has always wanted to compete in a World Athletics event on his home ground. Competing against the world’s best javelin throwers at Panchkula will be a huge occasion for Indian athletics and naming a WA event after the Olympic champion will be a big motivating factor for up-and-coming youngsters,” Sagoo said.
Talking about his ambition to organise a world class event, Chopra had said in January: “It has been a longstanding dream of mine to organise and bring a world-class javelin competition to India. With the help of JSW Sports and AFI, we are making this happen. I am sure that my fellow athletes and fans in India will create an experience that will be spoken about for a long time,” he had said.
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