Neeraj Chopra scripts history, becomes first Indian javelin thrower to attain number 1 ranking

In the latest World Athletics rankings, India’s Neeraj Chopra is the top-ranked javelin thrower with 1455 points. The Olympic gold medallist leads the reigning world champion, Granada’s Anderson Peters by 22 points – who sits in the second spot with 1433 points.

Neeraj earlier scripted history by becoming the first-ever track & field athlete to win a gold medal at the Summer Games – when he achieved the feat in Tokyo two years back after recording his best finish of 87.58m. That moment also saw him becoming only the second Indian ever after shooter Abhinav Bindra to grab an individual gold medal in an event in the Olympics.

Meanwhile, Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch (1416 points) is third, Germany’s Julian Weber with 1385 points is fourth, and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem is fifth with 1306 points.

Top 5 Javelin throwers as per the latest World Athletics Rankings –

• Neeraj Chopra (IND) – 1455 points
• Anderson Peters (GRN) – 1433 points
• Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) – 1416 points
• Julian Weber (GER) – 1385 points
• Arshad Nadeem (PAK) – 1306 points

Recently, Neeraj again entered history books by taking home top honours in the Doha Diamond League. After registering a distance of 88.67m, he stood in first place and won a gold medal – becoming the first Indian ever to achieve this feat in the tournament’s history.

After making headlines for his star-studded performance in Tokyo, Neeraj had a brilliant start to the 2022 season by winning a silver medal in the World Championship in Eugene. He, however, couldn’t defend his gold medal title at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham because of his injury.

While this season also started with a bang by winning the Diamond League, Neeraj will next be seen in Fanny Blankers-Koen Games at Hengelo in the Netherlands on June 4, followed up by another event set to take place on June 13.

Crossing 90m mark still on Neeraj’s mind

Regarding bagging accolades at all levels, Neeraj is up there with some of the greats in the sport. Breaching the 90m still remains unchecked on his bucket list. With a few top-level events coming up this season, let’s see if Neeraj can pocket this achievement.

Although it took him adequate time to reach where he is now, even if he doesn’t achieve the 90m mark in 2023, he would probably reach it in times to come.