New Delhi: Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will step in as an organiser with the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic javelin throw competition, which is scheduled to be held at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, Haryana, on May 24, the World Athletics confirmed on Thursday.
Scheduled as NC Classic, the one-day javelin throw meet is classified as a World Athletics ‘A’ category event, equal to a Continental Tour Gold-level competition in ranking points. The Continental Tour, a second-tier global athletics series behind the Diamond League, was launched in 2020 as the successor to the World Challenge series and features four tiers – gold, silver, bronze, and challenger.
With two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, who won gold in the Tokyo Olympics and then followed it up with a silver in 2024, the NC Classic 2025 will see some of the top javelin throwers from all around the world competing in India for the first time.
This is the biggest javelin throw event to be held in India and will be organised by Neeraj Chopra in association with JSW. The organisers are keen on making it an annual fixture in the World Athletics calendar.
The NC Classic 2025 will also serve as a crucial qualification event for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo from September 13 to 21, though Chopra, the reigning world champion, has already secured his spot, according to a report on Olympics.com.
More recently, India hosted the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi last month and is set to stage its first-ever Para Athletics World Championships in September-October.
Additionally, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze-level meet, under the Indian Open banner, is scheduled for August 10 in Bhubaneswar as part of India’s 2025 athletics season.
This will be Neeraj’s first event in the country this season. He last competed on home soil at the National Federation Senior Athletics Competition in Bhubaneswar last year, throwing 82.27m in his build-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
(IANS)
