India’s Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra is set to begin his title defense in the men’s javelin throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics, starting with the qualification round on Tuesday.

Chopra, 26, enters the competition as both the reigning Olympic and world champion. His season’s best stands at 88.36m, achieved at the Doha Diamond League in May, while his national record of 89.94m was set at the Stockholm Diamond League in June 2022.

The qualification round will determine the finalists for Thursday’s event. Athletes must achieve the qualifying mark of 84.00m to secure a spot in the final. If fewer than 12 athletes reach this mark, the field will be filled with the next highest-ranked competitors to ensure at least 12 finalists.

Chopra faces stiff competition from a world-class field. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, silver medalist at the 2023 World Championships and gold medalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 90.18m, is expected to be a strong contender. Germany’s Julian Weber, the European Games champion with a personal best of 89.54m, has shown consistent performances over 85m in 2024.

Finland’s Oliver Helander, ranked fourth globally with a season’s best of 85.75m, is another athlete to watch. Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, a two-time Olympic medalist (gold in 2012, bronze in 2016), enters with a season-best of 85.11m and could prove formidable. Kenya’s Julius Yego, the Rio 2016 silver medalist and former world champion, brings his experience to the field with a season-best of 81.74m.

Other notable contenders include Jakub Vadlejch from Czechia, Anderson Peters from Grenada, and Germany’s Max Dehning, who holds the world-leading mark of 90.20m set in February.

(Inputs from ANI)