Neeraj Chopra’s decade-long journey to the historic 90m mark

Indian athletes delivered an exceptional performance, shattering two national records at the Doha Diamond League in Qatar on Friday.

Neeraj Chopra, India’s premier athlete, once again led the nation’s charge by not only breaking the national record but also breaching the long-elusive 90m mark in the men’s javelin throw.

With this feat, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to reach this milestone and only the third Asian ever to do so, after Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and Chao-Tsun Cheng of Chinese Taipei.

However, reaching the 90m mark was no simple feat. Neeraj waited almost a decade for this moment but never lost faith in himself, despite public doubts.

Here, The Bridge sheds light on his journey to becoming a 90m thrower:

2015 - 81.04m - First 80m Throw

Neeraj Chopra made his first 80m throw a decade ago at the 2015 Indian University Championships with the best throw of 81.04m, which was 10m increment from his previous year's best throw of 70.19m.

2016 - 86.48m - Junior World Champion

Neeraj Chopra came into the limelight in 2016 when he became the first Indian to win a U20 World Championship with a world junior record of 86.48m. This was also a new national record and marked the first time an Indian crossed the 85m mark.

However, he missed out on the Rio Olympics as the throw came after the qualification period had ended. Still, it was the beginning of one of the most talked-about fairy tale journeys in Indian sports.

2018 - 88.06m - Asian Games Champion

Neeraj continued his rise, transitioning smoothly from the junior to the senior circuit and making his Diamond League debut in 2017.

He used this experience to break his own national record at the Doha Diamond League in 2018 with a throw of 87.43m.

Later that year, at his first Asian Games, he made it a memorable outing by winning the gold medal with yet another national record of 88.06m.

2021 - Tokyo Olympic Champion

Neeraj’s upward trajectory was briefly interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed his dream Olympic debut.

When the Tokyo Olympics were postponed to 2021, Neeraj returned with renewed hunger, setting a new national record of 88.07m in his first competition back—the 2021 Indian Grand Prix.

He then went on to script history at the Olympics, clinching India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in athletics with a throw of 87.58m.

2022 - 89.94m - Stockholm Diamond League

Riding high on Olympic success, Neeraj broke the national record twice in 2022.

First, he threw 89.30m at the Paavo Nurmi Games, then bettered it 15 days later with 89.94m at the Stockholm Diamond League.

Despite the national record, he did not win the Stockholm title, sparking public pressure to break the 90m barrier.

Neeraj, unfazed by the noise, responded with a historic gold at the 2023 World Championships with a best throw of 88.17m.

2024 - Paris Olympic Silver

Neeraj faced his first major setback at the Paris Olympics, where Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won gold with a personal best of 92.97m.

Neeraj still managed to win his second Olympic medal—silver—with a best throw of 89.45m.

However, chatter around the elusive 90m mark resurfaced on social media.

2025 - 90.23m - Doha Diamond League

In 2025, Neeraj made a strategic change by partnering with his idol and current world record holder, Jan Železný of Czechia, to refine his technique ahead of a new Olympic cycle.

The results showed that within four months as he finally breached the 90m barrier at the Doha Diamond League with a national record throw of 90.23m.

Although he finished behind Julian Weber of Germany, Neeraj had finally shed the weight of expectations.

With the season just beginning and major events like the World Championships in Tokyo approaching, all eyes are on what lies ahead for Neeraj Chopra, one of India’s most celebrated athletes.