Chopra, along with German star Julian Weber and two-time world champion Anderson Peters from Grenada, will compete among eight athletes vying for top honors in the season’s second Diamond League meeting, which includes men’s javelin throw. Five of the listed throwers have achieved distances over 90m.
Weber had previously outperformed Chopra at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, shortly after the Indian star finally reached the elusive 90m mark. Weber registered a throw of 91.06m, surpassing Chopra’s 90.23m in the same event. The 31-year-old Weber also triumphed over Chopra at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet on May 23 in Poland, where both athletes struggled under cold and overcast conditions, with Weber managing 86.12m and Chopra finishing second at 84.14m.
Peters also competed in both the Doha Diamond League and the Poland event, securing third place in each. In Paris, Chopra aims to outshine Weber after finishing second in consecutive competitions, returning to the French capital after an eight-year hiatus from Diamond League events.
Chopra did not participate in the Paris Diamond League last year to focus on the Olympic Games, where he earned a silver medal with a throw of 89.45m. His last appearance in the Paris Diamond League was in 2017 as a junior world champion, where he placed fifth with a throw of 84.67m.
Among the eight competitors at Charlety Stadium on Friday, five have surpassed the 90m threshold. Chopra and Weber are the most recent additions to this exclusive group, while Peters achieved this milestone in 2022.
Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego and Trinidad and Tobago’s 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott also belong to the 90m club, both having accomplished this feat in 2015, although their performance levels have since declined.
“Few meetings can boast a field of five javelin throwers over 90m. Foremost among them is Tokyo Olympic champion and Paris silver medallist Neeraj Chopra of India, who is as powerful as he is consistent,” stated the Paris Diamond League organizers in a promotional release for the event.
The remaining three competitors in the eight-man field are Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio Da Silva, who has a personal best and season’s best of 86.34m, Andrian Mardare of Moldova (PB: 86.66m), and Remi Rougetet from France.
Chopra began the 2025 season by winning a title at an invitational meet in Potchefstroom, South Africa, which was a minor—category F—event, with a throw of 84.52m.
Just four days after the Paris Diamond League, Chopra will participate in the Golden Spike athletics meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 24.
Following that, the reigning world champion will host the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic on July 5 in Bengaluru, a World Athletics category A event.
Peters, Yego, and Da Silva are also expected to participate in the NC Classic.
