Neeraj Chopra might have accomplished almost all there is in international athletics. He’s won gold medals at the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games, and has been a Diamond League champion. Yet, he says that the ability to bring an international world class level competition to India will be one of his biggest legacies.
“Neeraj Chopra Classic” (NC Classic), an international javelin meet, will be held at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on May 24 this year. The event has been shifted from Panchkula because of an issue with the stadium floodlights at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the reigning Olympic champion, has been invited for the meet but he is yet to confirm his participation.
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The event will feature former world champions Anderson Peters (Grenada) and Julius Yego (Kenya), 2016 Olympic gold medallist Thomas Roehler (Germany) and world leader Curtis Thompson (USA).
“After I’d won gold medals at the World Championships or the Olympics, people used to ask what was next for me. These were all dreams that got fulfilled and then, I had to see what was next. But all the medals that I won are going to be in my house. This (The fact that India will be conducting the Neeraj Classic event) is the first time that I feel I’ve given something back to India, Indian athletics and its athletes,” Neeraj said in a virtual press conference.
NC Classic will be a World Athletics Gold category event, making it a key qualification competition for the World Championships.
Neeraj’s last event in India was the Federation Cup 2024, where he clinched gold with a 82.27m throw.
