Neeraj Chopra at World Athletics Championships 2025 Highlights: Neeraj Chopra, Sachin Yadav in final; Nadeem, Anderson Peters, Weber also make cut

Neeraj Chopra World Athletics Championships 2025 Live Updates: Neeraj Chopra, India's javelin superstar, will begin his World Championship title defence in the qualification round in Tokyo on Wednesday, facing a formidable field including Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and Diamond League champion Julian Weber of Germany. The event takes place at the same arena where Chopra won his historic Olympic gold in 2021.Chopra aims to join an elite group as only the third male javelin thrower to defend a World Championships title, following Czech legend Jan Zelezny (1993, 1995) and Anderson Peters of Grenada (2019, 2022).This competition marks the first encounter between Chopra and Nadeem since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Nadeem claimed gold with a throw of 92.97m, while Chopra secured silver with 89.45m.The qualification round will see Chopra and Nadeem in separate groups, with their potential clash expected in Thursday's final.The event features a star-studded lineup including Weber, Peters, 2015 world champion Julius Yego, 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott, Czech veteran Jakub Vadlejch, and Brazilian Luiz da Silva.India makes history with its largest representation in the event, as Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh, and Rohit Yadav join Chopra. Chopra received a wild card entry as defending champion, while the others qualified through world rankings.The 19-man Group A qualification round includes Chopra, Weber, Walcott, Vadlejch, and Sachin. Group B consists of 18 athletes, including Nadeem, Peters, Yego, Da Silva, Rohit, Yashvir, and Sri Lankan Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage.Competitors must achieve the automatic qualifying mark of 84.50m or finish among the top 12 to advance to Thursday's final.