Neeraj Chopra Aims to Outdo Himself at Poland’s Janusz Kusociński Memorial Meet
Chorzów, Poland — After breaching the elusive 90-meter mark last week in Doha, India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is set to challenge himself and his rivals again at the Orlen Janusz Kusociński Memorial competition scheduled for Friday. This will be Chopra’s third appearance of the 2025 season, as he prepares for the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo.
Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist, threw a personal best of 90.23 meters at the Doha Diamond League, but had to settle for second place as Germany’s Julian Weber surged ahead with a last-throw effort of 91.06 meters. Weber, the 2022 European champion and 2024 silver medallist, will once again be in the fray in Poland, setting the stage for another intense showdown.
Joining Chopra and Weber in this elite field will be two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who holds a personal best of 93.07 meters. Peters had finished third in Doha with a throw of 84 meters. The competition will also feature Poland’s national record holder Marcin Krukowski (best of 89.55 meters), along with compatriots Cyprian Mrzygłód (84.97 meters) and Dawid Wegner (82.21 meters), Moldova’s Andrian Mardare (86.66 meters), and Ukraine’s Artur Felfner (84.32 meters).
Chopra had been striving to cross the 90-meter barrier since his 88-meter-plus throw in 2018. With the pressure finally off his shoulders, he emphasized that last week’s success was only the beginning. Now injury-free, especially from the lower back issues that previously hampered his performance, Chopra is eyeing even longer throws in upcoming events, particularly the World Championships later this year.
As per agency report, Chopra credited his recent progress to training under javelin legend Jan Železný, the world record holder in the discipline. Since joining forces with Železný in February this year, Chopra has been focusing on refining technical aspects of his throw and continues to learn and adapt with each competition.
The Poland meet presents another vital opportunity for Chopra to maintain his form and confidence as he builds toward defending his world title in Tokyo. With elite throwers from Europe and beyond converging for the event, fans can expect another thrilling contest in men’s javelin.
