Neeraj Chopra back on top of javelin world, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem struggles to keep up

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has regained the number one position in the World Rankings, in the latest list released by World Athletics. Neeraj had lost the no. 1 ranking to Anderson Peters on September 17 last year, when the Grenadian athlete won the Diamond League Final in Brussels. Currently, Neeraj has 1445 points while Peters has 1431. German sensation Anderson Peters is third with 1407 points, followed by Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who is fourth with 1370.

Chopra is the sole Indian among the top 10 of the world men's javelin throw rankings. Sachin Yadav is the second highest Indian, at no. 24. Kishore Jena is at no. 35 in the world, and Yash Vir Singh and Vikrant Malik come in at 41 and 51, respectively. Rohit Yadav ranks 59th. Sahil Silwal and Uttam Patil fill out the top 100 with positions of 77 and 78, respectively.

Just a few days back, Neeraj Chopra clinched the title at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic on Tuesday (June 24). The 27-year-old athlete began with a foul and then upped the ante with his 85.29-metre throw. This also made him the only one in the event to cross the 85-meter mark.

Chopra started and finished with fouls; he recorded 82.17 metres and 81.01 metres in his second and third throw, respectively. Poised at third place in the second round, the athlete flipped the rankings with his best in the third round, which moved him to the top of the chart. South Africa’s Douw Smit with 84.12-metre throw and Grenada’s Anderson Peters with 83.63-metre throw, secured second and third places.

Last month, Neeraj Chopra finally crossed the elusive 90m mark at the 2025 Doha Diamond League on May 16, 2025. Neeraj kicked off the event with a 88.44m throw. His second attempt was not a valid one. He breached the 90m mark in his third attempt. In his fourth attempt, the 27-year-old threw 80.56m, while his fifth throw was not valid and his last throw, he threw 88.20m.

In doing so, Neeraj Chopra became the 25th man to cross the 90m mark. Meanwhile, Germany's Julian Weber secured the first position with a throw of 91.06m and Grenadian javelin thrower Anderson Peters settled for the third spot with a throw of 85.64m