Picture Credit: X

Picture Credit: X

India's Neeraj Chopra, the silver medal winner at 2024 Paris Olympic Games, has been named the "best male javelin thrower in the world" for 2024 by a renowned American magazine ‘Track and Field News’. The 27-year-old athlete successfully finished the year, after finishing in the top two across several tournaments, overpowering Olympic gold medallist, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem and two-time world champion Anderson Peters. In 2023, Chopra was placed at the top by the same magazine., honouring his consistency and skill in the field.

Nadeem, who competed in one event in 2024 besides the Olympic Games, ended up in the fifth position. Even though his Olympic throw of 92.97 meters was farther than Chopra's 89.45 meters, Nadeem finished fourth in the Paris Diamond League. 

Chopra's consistency on the javelin throw field

Although Chopra failed to win the Diamond League title, his overall performance was lauded. He finished second in high-profile events like the Doha Diamond League and the Lausanne Diamond League, demonstrating his skill to play at the highest level of game. Furthermore, his triumph at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, where he threw 85.97m, cemented his place among the world's top javelin throwers.

The magazine, which is often reckoned as the ‘Bible of Sport’ in its statement mentioned that although Chopra failed to win any Diamond League game, his regular places were critical, adding, "Razor-thin edge to the Indian for his better Paris placing," emphasising how his Olympic achievement played a vital factor in his rating.

The California-based magazine further added, "Reigning leader Neeraj Chopra vs. 2022's winner Anderson Peters for the top spot was also not clear-cut." Chopra did not win any DL games, but he was 3-2, just ahead of Peters. Peters, 27, finished third at the Paris Olympics, behind Nadeem and Chopra. In 2024, he was successful in winning three Diamond League titles, including Lausanne, Zurich, and Brussels.

The magazine also mentioned the thoughts over Nadeem, and said, "What do you do with an Olympic gold medallist who only competed in one other meet and finished fourth? Thus, it was ruled that Arshad Nadeem could not be higher than No. 5, despite rising to No. 6 on the all-time list."