Eyes steely. Cold anger written on every line of his face. The explosiveness of his body coiling up tighter and tighter till you can almost see the tension in his muscles... it's when you see Neeraj Chopra chase someone else's mark in-competition that you truly see just why he's Indian sports' GOAT.
This past week, he'd not been himself. Ahead of the inaugural tournament bearing his name, Neeraj had been the epitome of 'athithi devo bhava'. The guest is God. From the time they landed, he'd worked to personally ensure the international athletes had settled in comfortably, that everything was to their liking. He'd talked to the Indian athletes, all of whom look up to him, trying to ensure they didn't lack confidence ahead of their first major tournament. He'd gone to the stadium daily to conduct inspections and fret over what he calls "the little things."
Even on the day, he was fussy: "Unload the javelins carefully, slowly," he had instructed, even as the other athletes got out and went into the stadium. He'd thanked everyone who had anything to do with anything at all ahead of the tournament. Just before the event started, he made sure to get onto the track well ahead of the other 11 throwers, take a lap around the Kanteerava, thank the crowd and pump them up before everyone else came out and joined him on the field. Mid-warm up he had fretted about how they were running a couple of minutes late. As the javelins started flying, he worried that the car bringing it back was too slow, 'should they run and go collect it,' he asked those around. The perfect host.
...until the competition proper started, that is.
He started with a foul and looked disgusted with himself. In round 2, he saw his good friend and former world champion Julius Yego hit 80.07m, so he stretched himself a bit and hit 82.99m to take back the lead. Judging by those first 24 throws, there was a feeling that it might be enough. The conditions weren't exactly great for long-distance throwing: Bengaluru's famed weather had brought its A-game and there was a strong, cold wind blowing into the throwers' faces, holding their javelins up mid-air.
In round 3, though, everyone exploded. Sachin Yadav trundled in and hit 82.33m, awfully close to Neeraj's leading mark. Rumesh Pathirage turned it up a notch or three more: hitting 84.34m and letting out a roar of triumph. A captivated Bengaluru crowd roared with him. They sensed it - they were in for a real competition now.
When Pathirage got back to the dugout, Neeraj immediately went across to tap him on the shoulder and shake his hand. 'Good throw, son,' he seemed to say, before turning away and starting his pre-throw warm-up. 'Now you wait and watch,' went unsaid, but Neeraj's face said everything for him. The steel. The anger. The competitor.
Stretching that right arm of his, he started his sprint for round 3, all that bundled-up velocity exploding out at the line, that Valhalla javelin landing 86.18m away from him. Arm raised, brief smile. 'Let's not forget who the king is.'
The crowd, who'd already been on their feet, expecting magic from their champion, went wild. Screams of 'India! India!' mingled easily with 'Neeraj! Neeraj!' A crowd of 14,593 people had come to the stadium on Saturday to watch him, and he'd repaid them and then some. In the post-event press conference, he spoke about how he had absolutely loved that support, that there was a bit of increased pressure because of it -- the pressure to live up to expectations -- that he learnt how to deal with it on the go.
In the event, through rounds 4-6, no one came close to Neeraj: the conditions were too tough, his mark too far. Julius Yego wound back the years to hit 84.51m (in round 4) and that was good enough for second place. In third came Pathirage with his 84.34m.
All through it, the crowd remained electric.
Neeraj Chopra shows exactly why he's a champion! 💥
Brings out his A game in the third round with a massive 86.18m, taking the lead back from Rumesh Pathirage. 🇮🇳The crowd is loving it! 🔥#NCClassic 2025 #GameOfThrows #CraftingVictories #NeerajChopra pic.twitter.com/QPvLFbbIgQ
- Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) July 5, 2025
They brought cricket energy to their 'Sachiiin, Sachiiin" chants to support Sachin Yadav, they oooh-ed in admiration when Thomas Rohler came in for his first through, they cheered wildly every time someone crossed the 80m mark (seven of 12 did), they fell in love with the charismatic Yego.
Most of all, they brought it big time for Neeraj. There was a primal-ness to the roar that accompanied Neeraj whatever he did: when he first came to take a jog around the track, when he flung the javelin the furthest during the warmup, when he made his formal entry through a haze of fireworks. Not one person was seated whenever he reached the top of the runway, all six times.
Casual fans or not, young or old: they were all engrossed by the intensity of the competition, fully immersing themselves in the experience. The honchos of the Athletic Federation of India -- who don't really do public engagement (this year's Federation Cup says hello) -- sat on stage in the post-event presser and one can only hope that someone was taking notes. Conduct an event well, engage the audience, and the volume of the stadium will speak for itself. Neeraj hoped that more people would go watch athletics tournaments in India, and they just might, if they were all organized with the attention to detail this was.
Neeraj, being who he is, wasn't done just yet. Event over, the perfect host was back. Seeing that there were no water bottles on the stage for his fellow winners, he walked over to the fridge to get them some. Once the questions started, he warmly encouraged Pathirage, who'd been shy about his English ("This is how I also started..."). At the end of it, he asked Yego ("as my good friend, the senior-most athlete present") what he could do to improve this event, what was done poorly, what more can be done.
As he was rushed out of the room, reporters still seeking one last soundbite, fans cheering outside, there was a relief writ large on his face. A tough competition well won, a wonderful even well hosted.
This Neeraj Chopra, man. Is there anything he can't do?