Tokyo/IBNS: Neeraj Chopra on Thursday failed to shine in the men's javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Neeraj finished at eighth in the final.

Coming into the final, expectations were high as Neeraj was defending champion (he won the gold medal in 2022).

His qualifying throw was strong: he qualified for the final with 84.85 m, reaching the automatic qualifying mark on his first attempt. 

But in the final, he couldn’t match that form. He never crossed the 85m mark in any of his attempts. 

After the 5th round foul, his elimination from medal chances became certain.

He was visibly frustrated afterwards. For example, he removed his waist belt and momentarily covered his face after being eliminated.

Meanwhile, Indian javelin thrower Sachin Yadav finished at fourth with his best of 86.27m.

The men’s javelin gold at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo was won by Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad & Tobago with a throw of 88.16 m.

The silver and bronze medalists are Anderson Peters (Grenada) — 87.38 m and Curtis Thompson (USA) — 86.67 m respectively.