Neeraj Chopra, Sreeshankar – Which Indians can win medal at 2025 World Athletics C'ships?

The 19-member Indian athletics contingent is ready for the biggest tournament of the 2025 season, the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, from September 13 to 21.

This marks the 20th edition of the biennial championship, with India securing three medals in history, beginning with Anju Bobby George's long jump bronze in 2003.

The two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra will be the favourite to win a medal as he will enter the men's javelin field as the defending champion.

Aside from him, no Indian athletes are considered medal favorites on paper, but they could still have an outside chance if they deliver their personal bests.

Possible Medal Contenders

Neeraj Chopra - Men's Javelin Throw (PB=SB= 90.23m, WL =91.51m)

As the leading contender, Neeraj is poised to complete a historic hat-trick of medals at these Championships, following his gold medal in 2023 and silver in 2022.

Neeraj has maintained an impressive streak of top-2 finishes in his last 26 tournaments, a streak that he started in his last visit to Tokyo for the 2021 Olympic Games.

However, defending his title might be a challenging task for Neeraj, as he faces strong competition this year from Germany's Julian Weber, the current world leader with two 90m+ throws this season.

Additionally, the reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, who will make his return for the first time since his victory in Paris, can also offer a strong challenge to Neeraj.

Murali Sreeshankar - Men's Long Jump (PB=8.41m, SB=8.13m, WL=8.46m)

Sreeshankar had a tiring phase as he had to play five competitions within two months to be eligible for the world championships, which he somehow managed and booked his ticket to Tokyo.

After returning from a career-threatening injury and still qualifying for one of the toughest competitions of the sport, Sreeshankar showed the determination and quality of a champion.

However, the journey is not going to be easy for him ahead as he needs to maintain his form and might need to give a lot more than he has done in the last two months.

But if we compare this year's long jump data, then Sreeshankar's personal best of 8.41m will stand second on the World Lead, but whether he can deliver that is a big question.

Praveen Chithravel - Men's Triple Jump (PB=SB=17.37m, WL = 17.80m)

The triple jumper Praveen Chithravel has had a good season so far, crossing the 17m mark twice, including his own national record equalling performance of 17.37m.

This 17.37m mark puts him among the eight best Triple jumpers this season, but it's been almost five months since he achieved that mark, and he hasn't found his best since then.

For any medal chance, he has to end this run and must replicate or even surpass this previous performance to see himself somewhere near the podium or even on it.

Sachin Yadav - Men's Javelin Throw (PB=SB= 85.16m, WL =91.51m)

Sachin Yadav is the latest addition to India's strong javelin lineup, booking his ticket to Tokyo based on the ranking points he earned from solid performances throughout the season.

In fact, Indian javelin throwers have been delivering consistent performances globally, as evidenced by India fielding four javelin throwers at global competition for the first time.

But the real question is, can India take this forward and convert this into a double podium finish, which they came very close to last time, having three Indians in the top 6 of the men's Javelin final.

Sachin Yadav can be the answer to that question if he manages to improve his personal best in Tokyo and puts the world's best javelin throwers under pressure with his consistency.

(Note: PB = Personal Best, SB = Season Best, WL = World Lead)