Neeraj Chopra finishes above Pakistan's Nadeem but misses out on medal; Sachin Yadav was India's best thrower

The Olympic and World champion from India, Neeraj Chopra, endured a disappointing run in the final of the Javelin Throw at the World Athletics Championship 2025 in Tokyo. Returning to the venue where he won his maiden Olympic medal - a gold medal during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games four years ago, Neeraj finished in the eighth spot, with his best throw being 84.03m. He, however, finished above his counterpart and on-field foe, Arshad Nadeem, from Pakistan, who finished at the 10th spot with his best being 82.75m.

Meanwhile, Neeraj’s fellow Indian, Sachin Yadav, missed the medal by just one position, finishing a record fourth following his best performance to date. His 86.27m was his Personal Best (PB).

In a rather disappointing outing for the gold medal contender, India’s Neeraj failed to breach the 84m mark, having failed to secure distances in two separate attempts out of five.

Starting with a promising throw of 83.65m, Neeraj bettered the number in his next throw, recording 84.03m in his second. While he remained ahead of Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem after the first two attempts (who recorded 82.73m in his first and a failed second attempt), Neeraj couldn't go past that distance for the night.

After a failed third throw, Neeraj recorded 82.26 in his fourth attempt before the rain interrupted his momentum, resulting in him failing to improve on his number and finishing out of the top two for the first time in 26 competitions; he, however, finished outside the podium for any position for the first time in seven years. Seemingly disgusted with his underwhelming performance, Neeraj never looked like performing up to his levels in the world final in Tokyo.

Nadeem, on the other hand, recorded his best in this third attempt (82.75m) before a failed fourth attempt ended his run in this World Athletics Championship.

Sachin Yadav’s massive first throw and a new winner

Neeraj’s fellow Indian, Sachin Yadav, was the best-performing javelin thrower on the day from the subcontinent. He recorded his PB in his first attempt (86.27m), before breaching the 85m mark twice in his following four attempts. Even his second-best throw (85.96m) was better than Chopra’s best throw of the night. He, however, failed to secure a medal at the top level despite producing his best-ever performance.

Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott won the gold medal with his best throw of 88.16m, with Grenada’s Anderson Peters securing the second spot (87.38m) and USA’s Curtis Thompson finishing third (86.67m).