World Athletics vice president Adille Sumariwalla has backed Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra to perform well at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, despite his recent second-place finish at the Diamond League Finals in Zurich.Neeraj Chopra, the 27-year-old two-time Olympic medalist, secured second place with a throw of 85.01m at the Diamond League Finals. This marks his third consecutive runner-up position in the Finals, following his trophy win in 2022 and second-place finishes in 2023 and 2024.Germany’s Julian Weber dominated the competition, winning his first Diamond League Trophy. Weber achieved a personal best and season-leading throw of 91.57m, followed by another impressive throw of 91.37m in the seven-athlete final.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“I think he (Neeraj) is ok. Neeraj performs when he really has to perform. 85-86m is not bad at all. He won the Olympics with the same distance. We just got so used to Neeraj winning that we forget that it’s a sport, and javelin is a dicey sport,” Sumariwalla said.Sumariwalla shared his thoughts during a press conference for the International Association of Ultrarunners 50K World Championship. He anticipates an exciting competition between Chopra and Weber at the World Championships, scheduled for September 13-21.“Weber is throwing very well at the moment. Weber has got all his things right, so he is throwing well. It will be a good fight between them in Tokyo,” he added.Sumariwalla, who previously served as the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president and now acts as its spokesperson, expects India to surpass its performance from last year’s World Championships.“I think we will do better than last year, we will have more finalists,” he continued.Looking ahead to future competitions, Sumariwalla discusses the importance of upcoming events in the context of Olympic preparation.“Next year, Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games will only be stepping stones, but the real performance we will see is in the LA Olympics in 2028,” Sumariwalla concluded.The Indian athletics team has gained valuable international experience over the past two seasons, contributing to their development and competitive readiness.
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