Neeraj Chopra Finishes 8th at World Athletics Championships, Struggles with Back Injury

In a surprising turn of events at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished eighth in the men’s javelin final with a best throw of 84.03 metres.

Returning to the same stadium where he won Olympic gold in 2021, Chopra was expected to defend his world title but fell short amid visible discomfort. After the event, he revealed that a back injury had affected his performance in the crucial weeks leading up to the championship.

Despite the setback, India had a silver lining with Sachin Yadav, who delivered an impressive personal best of 86.27m to secure fourth place, narrowly missing a podium finish. The gold medal was clinched by Keshorn Walcott with a throw of 88.16m, followed by Anderson Peters and Curtis Thompson.

Chopra’s eighth-place finish marks a rare off day in an otherwise stellar international career.