Neeraj Chopra Reclaims Top Spot in Javelin Rankings After Stellar Performances
Neeraj Chopra's Remarkable Comeback
New Delhi, June 27: Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, an Olympic gold medalist and world champion, has regained his position as the number one athlete in the men’s javelin throw world rankings. This achievement comes after a series of outstanding performances on the global stage, surpassing Grenada's Anderson Peters.
According to the latest update from World Athletics, Neeraj's points have risen to 1,445, while Peters has 1,431 points, as reported by Olympics.com. Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, another Olympic champion, is currently ranked fourth with 1,370 points.
In the rankings, Germany's Julian Weber holds the third position with a top throw of 91.06 meters achieved at the Doha Diamond League, while Czechia's Jakub Vadlejch, who won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, rounds out the top five.
Neeraj had lost his leading position to Peters in September 2024, shortly after the Paris Olympics, where he secured a silver medal with a throw of 89.45 meters, while Peters claimed bronze.
The year 2025 has been exceptional for Neeraj, starting with a victory at the Potch Invitational in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in April. He then made headlines with a remarkable second-place finish at the Doha Diamond League, marking his first-ever throw beyond 90 meters at 90.23 m.
Later that month, he achieved another second-place finish at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland, followed by consecutive wins at the Paris Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike, with throws of 88.16 m and 85.29 m, respectively.
Neeraj has triumphed over Peters in all four encounters this year, maintaining his dominance over the Grenadian athlete. The last time he finished behind Peters was during the 2022 World Athletics Championships, where Neeraj earned silver with a throw of 88.39 m, while Peters achieved 89.91 m.
Overall, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist leads Peters 16-5 in major javelin throw finals. Both athletes are set to compete again at the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru on July 5.