Neeraj Chopra pays special tribute to Indian Army amid Indo-Pak tensions, undeterred by fan backlash
New Delhi: Following the Pahalgam terror attack, tensions between India and Pakistan have increased significantly. India reported repelling drone and missile attacks on military installations Thursday night, and the Border Security Force (BSF) thwarted a large-scale infiltration attempt near Samba.
'We are proud of our Brave Indian Armed Forces who are fighting for our nation against Terrorism. Let's do our part and make sure to follow guidelines to ensure everyone's safety during this time. Jai Hind, Jai India, Jai Army,' He posted on his X account.
Neeraj is scheduled to compete in the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet in June 2025 in the Czech Republic. Previous participation in 2023 and 2024 was cancelled due to injuries.
'I am excited to announce that I will take part in the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava this year. It's a legendary race and this year will be exceptional. My coach Jan Železný has not only won there many times, but also acts as the director of the whole event,' Neeraj said.
'I feel great and I hope you will see really nice and far-reaching feasts. I look forward to meeting you all,' he added.
In May, the athlete is scheduled to compete in the Doha Diamond League and the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru. However, the Neeraj Chopra Classic may be cancelled or postponed due to current India-Pakistan tensions.
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Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Business Standard
Neeraj Chopra, Arshad Nadeem pull out of Silesia Diamond League; Here's why
The much-hyped javelin battle between India's Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem will not materialize at the 2025 Silesia Diamond League. Scheduled for August 16 in Poland, the highly anticipated clash was shelved after Chopra withdrew and Nadeem was not listed in the final entry roster. Organizers had initially confirmed the participation of both Olympic medalists in early July, building excitement for a rare Indo-Pak rivalry in athletics. However, uncertainty loomed after Nadeem recently underwent surgery on his right calf in London. His coach, Salman Butt, later confirmed that the Paris Olympic gold medallist would skip the event, prioritizing recovery and preparation for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September. Stellar 2025 Season for Neeraj Despite the setback, Neeraj Chopra has enjoyed a remarkable 2025 campaign. He opened his season with a victory at the Potch Invitational in South Africa and then achieved a national record throw of 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League in May, becoming the first Indian javelin thrower to join the elite 90m club. Following that, he secured a second-place finish at the Janusz Kusoci?"ski Memorial in Poland but bounced back with a win at the Paris Diamond League, throwing 88.16m. He also claimed the Ostrava Golden Spike title, which helped him reclaim the world number one ranking in men's javelin throw. Neeraj further added to his accolades by winning the NC Classic in India, a domestic competition he personally hosts and promotes. Both Chopra and Nadeem are now expected to square off at the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo next month. With both athletes aiming for peak performance on the global stage, fans will be hopeful that the Indo-Pak clash they missed in Poland will finally unfold in Japan.
India Today
12 hours ago
- India Today
Cricket's loss, javelin's gain: Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga, the new kid on the block
Throwing might have been in his blood, but like most Sri Lankan teenagers, Rumesh Pathirage first fell in love with cricket. At under-18 level, he was already hurling the ball at 134 kilometres per hour, a lithe figure with raw pace and a competitive edge. In his only competitive outing for St Peter's College, Colombo, he delivered a performance that still draws smiles from those who saw it: four overs, five wickets, and a half-century with the bat. The kind of match that might have been the launchpad to a professional cricket is tempting to imagine him now in the bright colours of an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. But the young man from Kalutara, a small coastal town just south of Colombo, chose a different flight path. Instead of the seam and swing of a cricket ball, he embraced the whip-crack rhythm of the javelin runway. Today, at 22, his name is beginning to echo in stadiums far from July, at the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru, Rumesh stood on the podium alongside Olympic medallists Neeraj Chopra and Julius Yego, finishing ahead of his boyhood idol, former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler. Neeraj has already played a pivotal role in Rumesh's rise. It was the two-time Olympic medallist who extended the invitation to Bengaluru and urged him to push his limits. After the podium ceremony came a quieter lesson: noticing Rumesh hesitating before the media, unsure of his English, Neeraj leaned in with a nudge: 'Speak as much as you can in English. I learnt it this way. You'll be at many more podiums, so speak without fear.'On Sunday, August 10, in Bhubaneswar, buoyed by the confidence of his breakthrough in Bengaluru, Rumesh delivered the defining moment of his career: an 86.50m throw that shattered the Sri Lankan national record and secured direct qualification for the World Championships in 134 kph to 86.50mRumesh's journey began with the throws. 'In 2017, I started training in javelin. My father was a discus and shot-put thrower. He guided me. He got me into discus throwing,' Rumesh tells broke most of my school records. In 2017, I won the first school meet in discus. I then got the opportunity to come to the central school in Colombo, the St Peter's College.'It was at St Peter's that javelin entered the picture. 'After I came to St Peter's College, I started javelin throwing. My first throw was around the 30m mark. After only two months of training, I increased my throw to 63m. 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'Before I started, there were about three javelin throwers who threw 80-plus. One of them, Sumedha Ranasinghe, is also a direct entry for the World Championships this year. I look up to him even now.'When Neeraj made a dream come trueHis greatest inspiration, though, came from further afield. 'My biggest inspiration has been Thomas Rhler. I have been following all his Instagram posts. I have followed his tips and techniques. Thomas has been my main source of inspiration from my school days till now.'advertisementMeeting Rhler had seemed impossible — until Bengaluru. 'It was an interesting tournament in India. I didn't believe when growing up that I would be able to compete with someone like Thomas Rhler. I have followed Thomas Rhler since 2017. But I thought I wouldn't get a chance to meet my idol. But, Neeraj Chopra Classic gave me an opportunity.'That invitation came while he was in Australia for the Perth Classic, having just thrown 85.41m. Neeraj Chopra's manager, Lucas, called with a place in the Bengaluru first night wasn't easy. His opening throw measured only 71m. 'When I crossed the 80m, Neeraj came to me and said, 'You can do better than this'. Neeraj has always motivated me to do better, bigger things.' Rumesh revealed that Neeraj has always motivated him (Credit: PTI) The crowd roared for Neeraj, but their warmth extended to every competitor. For Rumesh, it felt like competing at home. He had spent the previous month mentally rehearsing for the event, visualising a breakthrough performance on such a grand South Asian stage. A podium finish had never crossed his mind, but when no one breached the 80m mark after the first round, he sensed an opening. The wind was tricky, but the challenge only fuelled him a 22-year-old who hadn't seen much of the world, Bengaluru became the stage to prove his adaptability. He showed composure beyond his years, adjusting to the conditions and securing a podium alongside Neeraj and Julius confidence he carried from Bengaluru was on full display in Odisha on Sunday. With no big names in the field, Rumesh turned the contest into a battle with himself — and won it in on the goTravel has been as much a teacher as competition. A visa delay meant he missed the Brisbane Track Classic, arriving a week late, but that detour opened the door to Perth. Within two weeks, he had trained with Olympic champion Kelsey-Lee Barber and her coach, Mike Barber, before returning to Sri home, he wears the colours of the Sri Lankan Air Force, which provides vital financial support. But for athletes outside cricket, the reality is are helping me with financial support. But, in Sri Lanka, except cricket, there is no real space to fund other sports. It's very hard being a javelin thrower in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, if you look at it, there are not many professional athletes. There are a lot of grassroots athletes who do well in track events. But after the age of 20, we have few. That's the main problem — the progression. The athletics federation hasn't been able to support us much. The financial problem is real in Sri Lankan athletics.'All-Asian Olympic podium?A top-eight finish at the Worlds is Rumesh's immediate target. The long-term one? To end Sri Lanka's two-decade wait for an Olympic medal — a goal he carries not only for himself, but for a nation hungry for sporting decades, men's javelin was the preserve of Europeans, with Olympic podiums dominated by Germany, Finland, and the Czech Republic. But the balance shifted in Paris, where Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem threw an Olympic-record 92.97m to take gold and India's Neeraj Chopra claimed silver. It was the first time in history that two Asian throwers occupied the top two steps of the Olympic podium — a seismic change in the sport's global order. 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India Today
a day ago
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Annu Rani, Animesh Kujur steal the show in electrifying Indian Continental Tour
An electrifying Kalinga Stadium brought the 1st Indian Continental Tour to life on Sunday, August 10. Such was the decibel meter in Bhubaneshwar that the start of the men's 100m sprint, the crown jewel of any athletics event, had to be reset thrice. Every time the sprinters were ready to explode out of the blocks, they were pulled back into their markers by unmissable cheers from the turned up in good numbers despite the sweltering afternoon heat, which made life difficult not only for the athletes but for the spectators as well. Indian athletes set the tone from the very start of the event, keeping the audience on their feet. The crowd, composed mostly of school and college students from more than 10 institutions in the city, had a gala time in the first-of-its-kind event in the competition started in hot conditions at 4 PM IST. Vishal TK, India's 400m specialist, won the gold medal in style, hitting 45.72 seconds, not far from his all-time best of 45.57, which came in Korea earlier this year. Once Vishal set the tone, Annu Rani took over the scene. Fresh off her sensational performance in Poland, where she registered her first 60+ metre throw in over a year (62.59m), Annu led the field within her first three attempts, hitting a strong throw in Bhubaneshwar will do a world of good to the 32-year-old, who has seen a form slump over the past year. While Annu lit up the women's javelin, her counterparts in the men's event failed to starboy Sachin Yadav, one of the favourites to win the men's event, was stunned by Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage, who secured direct qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo. Rumesh, who had bagged a bronze medal at the Neeraj Chopra Classic last month, improved his performance by over two metres to clinch the gold. His 86.50-metre throw left the Indian contingent far behind. Maharashtra's Shivam Lokhare, just 20 years old, finished second with a distance of 80.73m. Courtesy: Kingshuk Kusari While javelin was expected to be the star of the show, the loudest cheers came in the final hour of the event, when hometown favourite Animesh Kujur lined up for the men's 200m who had hoped to clock close to his personal best, put in a blistering run of 20.77 seconds to win gold with relative ease. After the race, he stayed back to entertain the crowd with a trademark Usain Bolt celebration — a fitting tribute to the man he earlier had voluntarily DNFed himself from the 100m competition, as he did not finish the heats on Sunday morning. While an explanation was not given behind the move it was perhaps the fact that he did not want to run four times in the humid conditions of Bhubaneshwar after a long and tiring athlete will be running in one more competition in Indian this season (Inter State tournament), and after that, head straight into the World Championships in Tokyo. Courtesy: Kingshuk Kusari As curtains fall on the 1st Indian Continental Tour, the organisers will be pleased with the level of efficiency and enthusiasm they managed to generate. If India hopes to host a World Athletics Championship or even the Olympics one day, events like these are just the beginning. The next step will be to not only repeat them, but to raise the bar with each edition.- Ends
