Neeraj Chopra looking to finally cross 90m mark with coach Zelezny in Doha

India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has achieved almost everything the sport has to offer, from a gold medal at the Olympics to the Diamond League and World Athletics Championships. The 27-year-old from Haryana has accomplished every possible feat he can. But there is one record that still evades him: the 90m throw mark. With a personal best of 89.94m, Chopra has come close to joining the exclusive list of players with a 90m-recorded throw multiple times but has just fallen short of the target.

 

However, when Neeraj Chopra steps onto the field at the Doha Diamond League this Friday, it will be the first time in four years that he competes without the title of Olympic champion, after finishing second behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

 

 

No longer the undisputed best javelin thrower in the world, Neeraj finds himself in the middle of one of the most competitive eras the sport has ever seen. In a decisive move, he has teamed up with Jan Zelezny, who is widely regarded as the greatest javelin thrower of all time, to push himself to the next level. 

 

From dominance to determination 

Since his third-place finish at the Kuortane Games in 2021, Neeraj has had a near-unbreakable streak of top-two finishes across 19 events over nearly four years. But silver at the Paris Olympics has triggered a deeper reflection. For most, a second-place finish would be a commendable result. For Neeraj, it is a wake-up call. The mission now is not just to reclaim titles but to reinvent dominance.

 

The 90-metre obsession 

The elusive 90-metre mark has long been Neeraj’s milestone, and his personal best of 89.94m is agonisingly close. In 2024, that chase became more than a benchmark; it became a necessity. His reaction to missing out on 90m in Lausanne last season, visibly upset despite a strong performance, revealed how much it now means to him.

 

At the World Championships in Tokyo later this year, that distance could well be the difference between gold and silver, as a massive 92.97m throw from Arshad Nadeem was enough to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. With Anderson Peters back at full strength and having already breached 90m again, the bar has officially been raised.

 

Guided by the greatest 

Enter Jan Zelezny, a man with 52 throws over 90m — more than the rest of the field combined — and the current world record holder. Zelezny is not just a retired great lending his name to coaching. He is an active and proven mentor, most notably to Jakub Vadlejch, another consistent podium finisher from the last Olympic cycle.

 

For Neeraj, this partnership is about squeezing “every last centimetre” from his body, as he put it after the Paris Games. Zelezny, known for his technical precision and mental toughness, is now tasked with helping India’s greatest track and field athlete unlock that final leap.

 

A fierce field, a familiar fire 

The men’s javelin competition in 2025 is unlike anything the sport has seen in years. With multiple 90m-plus throwers, Olympic medallists and rising young stars, even a high-80s throw may not guarantee a podium finish anymore.

 

But if there is one thing Neeraj Chopra has proven time and again, it is that he thrives under pressure. Now, armed with a legendary coach and driven by unfinished business, the quest for greatness resumes — not just to reclaim titles but to redefine what is possible in Indian athletics.