The Golden Boy, Neeraj Chopra, returns to the Paris Diamond League after eight long years, aiming to dominate the field at Stade Sébastien Charléty. Neeraj last competed in the Paris Diamond League in 2017, back when he was still establishing himself in the javelin world. He had finished fifth with a throw of 84.67m.
Having already surpassed the elusive 90m mark in his career, Neeraj now has his sights firmly set on a podium topping finish in Paris. This will be his second Diamond League appearance of the 2025 season as he aims to secure his first major victory of the year. With five out of the eight throwers boasting personal bests of over 90m, the Paris meet promises intense and thrilling competition.
The two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj kicked off his 2025 season with a solid performance, winning the Potch Invitational Track Event in Potchefstroom, South Africa. It also marked his first competitive outing under new coach Jan Železný.
He opened his Diamond League season in Doha with a historic throw of 90.23m, breaking the elusive 90m barrier for the first time in his career and finished second behind Germany’s Julian Weber, who threw 91.06m.
A week later, Neeraj and Weber met again at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial in Poland. Battling cold and wet conditions, Neeraj managed a best of 84.14m, once again finishing second to Weber, who threw 86.12m.
Besides Weber, Neeraj will face stiff competition from several top contenders in the field. Two-time World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada is also on the starting list. With a personal best of 93.07m, Peters may not have hit peak form this season; his best so far being 85.64m but he remains a significant threat.
Joining them are former 2015 World Champion Julius Yego of Kenya and 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, both bring pedigree and depth to the competition.
Brazil’s Luiz Maurício da Silva, Moldova’s Andrian Mardare and France’s Remi Rouguetet are also part of the entry list and will test their mettle against some of the world’s top javelin throwers.
After the Paris Diamond League, Neeraj will compete at the Ostrava Golden Spikes in Czechia on Tuesday, June 24. He will then compete in the Neeraj Chopra Classic at Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium on July 5, a prestigious World Athletics ‘A’ category event in his home country.
The start list for the Paris Diamond League 2025 :
Anderson Peters – Greneda
Neeraj Chopra – India
Julian Weber – Germany
Keshorn Walcott – Trinadad & Tobago
Julius Yego – Kenya
Luiz Maurico da Silva – Brazil
Andrian Mardare – Moldova
Remi Rouguetet – France
When and where to watch:
The Paris Diamond League 2025 is set to take place at Stade Charléty in Paris, France, on Friday. The javelin throw event will begin at 1:12 AM IST in the early hours of Saturday, June 21. Indian fans can watch the action live on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel.
