CWG 2026: Neeraj Chopra finishes 5th in qualification, seals javelin final spot
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "CWG 2026: Neeraj Chopra finishes 5th in qualification, seals javelin final spot")
CWG 2026 Neeraj Chopra finishes 5th in qualification, seals javelin final spot Photograph: (AFP)
Neeraj Chopra seals a spot in the CWG 2026 javelin final alongside Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh. Get the qualification results, distances, and injury updates.
Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and India’s javelin star Neeraj Chopra is one sleep away from competing for a medal at the ongoing 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after finishing fifth in the qualification with a best of 79.61m throw. He qualified for the medal round on Thursday (Jul 30) within two attempts, securing his spot with his second one. His first throw, however, recorded a distance of 76.28m. Besides him, two other Indians also punched their qualification for the medal round – Yashvir Singh (74.45m) and Rohit Yadav (78.37m). Both recorded respective distances of 73.89m and 77.04m in their first attempts.
All three Indians have successfully qualified for the 12-man final set for Friday (Jul 31), with Rohit and Yashvir finishing 9th and 10th, respectively. Neeraj finished fifth in the qualifications.
While the reigning Olympic champion from Pakistan, Arshad Nadeem, secured the qualification with a 78.63m throw, finishing seventh and two spots below India’s Neeraj, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage secured the top spot in the qualification with an 80m-plus throw (82.84m).
Lower back injury restricting Chopra
India’s brightest sporting talent, Chopra, has endured lower back pain since September 2025, which has visibly restricted his performance since. Owing to that, he also made a delayed start to the season at the Doha Diamond League on June 19, finishing fourth with his best throw of 85.69m. Following rehabilitation at his training base in Bienne, Switzerland, for nearly a month after that, Neeraj is ready to repeat his 2018 Gold Coast gold-medal-winning performance at this year’s CWG.
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After winning the gold with an 86.47m throw, Neeraj missed the 2022 CWG due to an injury.
Although USA’s Curtis Thompson and Germany’s Julian Weber are missing this edition, Chopra would have enough top stars challenging him for the coveted gold medal. Besides Neeraj and Pathirage, Chopra would need to beat the reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and 2022 CWG silver winner Anderson Peters of Grenada in the final.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Pathirage remains the number one contender for the gold medal, having crossed the 90 m mark and being the only one amongst all finalists to do so during the Rome Diamond League title. The 23-year-old has recorded another three 88m-plus throws and two DL titles this season.
