New Delhi: Fit-again Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra Monday announced that he will return to action at the Doha Diamond League on June 19, ending weeks of speculation about his competition calendar for the season.
The 28-year-old has been recuperating from a back injury which has prevented him from competing so far in the year.
“First throw of 2026 lands in Doha! Neeraj Chopra returns to competitive action June 19,” his management firm Vel Sports announced on Instagram.
Chopra is a late addition to the event as his name was not in the list announced by the organisers on June 12. He has been training in Switzerland’s Olympic Centre to prepare for the season.
“See you in Doha,” Chopra wrote on Instagram.
Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, whose participation was announced on June 12, did not figure in the latest list of competitors.
Chopra will be up against star Sri Lankan Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, the season leader with his stunning 92.62m at the Rome leg of the Diamond League June 4, reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, and two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada.
Others in the nine-man star-studded field are World Championships bronze-medallist Curtis Thompson of the USA, Julius Yego of Kenya, Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia, Mohamed Huseein Ahmed Sameh of Egypt and Artur Felfner.
In May last year, the two-time Olympic medallist Indian had breached the coveted 90m mark at the same venue. He had recorded 90.23m to finish second behind Julian Weber (91.06m) of Germany.
Chopra named in India’s athletics squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games Sunday, subject to achieving the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) qualifying standard of 82.61m.
The Doha Diamond League was to be originally held May 8 as the season-opening event, but was postponed due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
Orissa POST – Odisha’s No.1 English Daily
