Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra kickstarts his title defence in Paris Olympics

PARIS: India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra will begin his men's javelin throw title defence at the Paris 2024 Olympics from the qualification round on Tuesday.

The reigning Olympic and world champion has a season's best of 88.36m set at the Doha Diamond League in May. He holds the national record of 89.94m, achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden in June 2022.

With top-level competition experience, the 26-year-old Chopra is widely expected to advance through the qualification round. The real challenge, however, will begin on Thursday when he could face a formidable line-up of rivals in the final.

Among the top contenders challenging Neeraj Chopra for the gold medal will be Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia. Grenada's Anderson Peters, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, Julius Yego of Kenya, Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and Finland's Oliver Helander add to the high stakes at the Olympics.

Germany's Max Dehning holds the world-leading mark of 90.20m, achieved in February. He has not gone past the 82m mark since then but his personal best still makes him one of the top contenders.

The qualification round will decide the line-up for Thursday's men's javelin throw final. Athletes achieving the qualifying mark of 84.00m will make the final.

If the number of athletes who achieve the 84.00 metre mark is fewer than 12, the next highest-ranked athletes, up to a total of at least 12, will be included in the final. Should more than 12 athletes achieve the standard, all will progress to the final round.

Here's looking at Neeraj Chopra's top rivals at Paris 2024:

Arshad Nadeem:

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem won the silver medal at the World Championships last year and gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a massive 90.18m distance. Neeraj Chopra vs Arshad Nadeem is one of the most anticipated India vs Pakistan rivalries in athletics.

Julian Weber:

Julian Weber, the reigning European Games champion from Germany, has a personal best of 89.54m. He is ranked third in the world and his season's best of 88.37m came in May. In 2024, Weber has demonstrated remarkable consistency, competing in five tournaments and delivering throws exceeding 85m in each event.

Oliver Helander:

Oliver Helander of Finland is ranked fourth in the world and has a season's best of 85.75m. He went head-to-head with Neeraj Chopra at the Paavo Nurmi Games earlier this year. Chopra had topped the event with a distance of 85.97m while Helander was third with a distance of 83.96m.

Keshorn Walcott:

Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago will be gunning for his third Olympic medal in his fourth appearance. He won the gold medal at London 2012, bronze at Rio 2016 and missed out at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The 31-year-old goes into the Olympics with a season-best of 85.11m and could prove to be a dark horse.

Keshorn Walcott:

Julius Yego of Kenya, the Rio 2016 silver medallist, could prove to be a dark horse as well. The former world champion, now 35, has a season's best of 81.74m.