3 min readUpdated: Jul 26, 2026 06:32 PM IST
Neeraj Chopra had long been considered a prodigy before the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, but it his gold there that first announced his pedigree at the highest level. He had won gold at the time with a throw of 86.47m. He then had to give Birmingham 2022 a miss due to injury. In the years since that CWG gold though, Neeraj established himself as arguably the greatest athlete India has ever produced, winning an Olympic gold and silver, and a gold and silver at the World Championships, both firsts for Indians. He has also won gold at the two consecutive Asian Games in 2018 and 2022.
Through all those milestone medals, the 90m elluded Neeraj but he finally crossed that as well with a throw of 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League last year. Neeraj now says that while he would want to improve on that mark at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the priority is to simply finish top of the pile regardless of how far he manages to throw the javelin. “No, I don’t feel that pressure, nor do I obsess over a specific distance. As an athlete, my goal is always to improve my distance,” Chopra is quoted as saying by PTI. “I always feel in major Games, the main challenge is winning gold among the best athletes in the world. The second thing is distance. So I feel I need to keep increasing my distance.”
Men’s javelin has become one of Asia’s most competitive events, with Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, Sri Lanka’s Diamond League winner Rumesh Pathirage and Chopra regularly challenging each other on the international circuit. “That’s a good thing. When the competition is tough, we are able to push each other more. Especially in South Asia, there is a lot of strong competition now. Everyone will push themselves here,” Chopra said. “The field is quite tough. Olympic and World Championship, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medallists are here. All of them perform in the Diamond League.”
Chopra said that he is preparing for some challenging conditions with rain and gusty winds around in Glasgow. The men’s javelin throw is set to be held on July 30 and 31 at the Scotsun Stadium. “I was doing some training throws yesterday. The conditions are tough, but they are the same for everyone,” he said. “No matter how bad the conditions are, we have to stay mentally strong. I always think about how to produce the absolute best throw in the worst conditions.”
