Neeraj Chopra Returns to Action at Paavo Nurmi Games

Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will compete again at the Paavo Nurmi Games here on Tuesday against a strong field, hoping to continue his build-up to the Paris Games with renewed vigour after being forced into a brief pause to heal a niggle.

The only other Indian in the field at 26, the superstar will compete against Max Dehning, a teenage wonder from Germany and the youngest member of the elite 90m club, which Chopra hopes to join.

Chopra will face serious opposition from the 19-year-old as he defends his gold medal from the Tokyo Games in Paris.

Oliver Helander, a local favorite who defeated the Indian in the one-day competition in 2022, will also be there.

With a personal best throw of 89.30 meters in 2022, the Indian took home a silver medal. In the same year, Chopra raised that mark to 89.94m at the Diamond League leg in Stockholm.

The 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and the two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada are also in contention here.

For precautionary reasons, Chopra withdrew from the Ostrava Golden Spike last month after he "felt something in my adductor (group of muscles located on inner thighs)".

In May, he started his season at the Doha Diamond League, where he placed second with a final throw of 88.36 meters, which was his ninth-best record ever. Not competing here is Jakub Vadlejch, who defeated Chopra in the Doha Diamond League.

Chopra also competed in the Bhubaneswar National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships, where he won the gold medal with a lackluster performance of 82.27 meters.

Chopra's next appearance will be on July 7 at the Paris Diamond League, following the Paavo Nurmi Games.

Chopra has previously stated, "I will determine the competition schedule going forward based on my body and the circumstances."