Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic champion in javelin throw, will be aiming to defend his gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Thursday. Chopra secured his place in the final by topping the qualification event on Tuesday with a season-best throw of 89.34m.
The final will feature 12 athletes, all of whom finished in the top six of their respective groups during the qualification round. Chopra will face stiff competition from a number of athletes, including Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia, Julian Weber of Germany, and Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, all of whom are considered contenders for the gold medal.
The final will consist of six rounds, with each athlete getting one throw per round. After the sixth round, the athlete with the longest valid throw will be declared the winner.
There is an elimination element involved in the final. After the first three rounds, the athletes will be ranked based on their best throws, and the bottom four will be eliminated. The remaining eight athletes will then compete in the remaining three rounds. However, the scores from the first three rounds will still be considered for the final ranking.
In the event of a tie, the athlete with the better second best throw will be awarded the higher position.
All eyes will be on Chopra as he looks to make history and become the first Indian athlete to win two individual gold medals at the World Athletics Championships.
