New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra, who won an Olympic gold medal in the men’s javelin throw in Tokyo, has qualified for World Athletics Championship 2022. He qualified with a throw of 87.58m at the Tokyo Olympics, far above the qualification mark of 85m. But, Neeraj is starting his season with the Paavo Nurmi Games to be held in Finland.

After winning the Olympic medal, Neeraj took a break, but now he has been training for the last six months. Neeraj Chopra will face the reigning world champion Anderson Peters, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch and 2012 London Olympics gold-medallist Keshorn Walcott at the event. The Paavo Nurmi Games will have a line-up of 10 players.

Peters and Vadlejch have both crossed the 90m mark at the Doha Diamond League this year. Peters threw 93.07m to win the gold and also threw the season’s best. However, the German javelin star Johannes Vetter has withdrawn from the event.

Paavo Nurmi Games is a great platform to play and get back the form before World Athletics Championship and the Commonwealth Games ahead. Neeraj Chopra has a list of events lined up ahead. Just after playing the event in Finland, Chopra will ve playing at the Kuortane Games on June 18, followed by the Diamond League in Stockholm on June 30. Three weeks after the Diamond League is the qualifying round of the World Championships.

When and where to watch Neeraj Chopra playing?

For those who cannot go to Turku, Finland, the Paavo Nurmi Games may watch the event on Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD TV channels in India. The games will also be streaming on Voot. Neeraj Chopra will be in action at 9:30 pm IST on June 14.