Asian Games: With the five longest throws among Asians in 2018, Neeraj Chopra starts favourite

Neeraj Chopra, if his throws in 2018 are anything to go by, is the odds-on favourite to clinch the Asian Games title in Jakarta and Palembang.

The 20-year-old has had the best season of his career thus far, even breaking his own national record at the Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar. The impressive feat has been achieving consistency, with five throws above 85 metres.

Chopra also came closing to his previous record of 86.48 metres set at the 2016 Under-20 IAAF World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland as he won the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold at Gold Coast, Australia. This was his second major senior title at a continental or a global level after the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.

In his maiden season of competing at the Diamond League, Chopra also qualified for the finals of the Diamond League in Zurich, Switzerland. Competing with Johannes Vetter, Thomas Rohler and other elite throwers in the world, he has gained valuable experience prior to his first Asian Games appearance.

With a training stint in Germany under Werner Daniels and now in Finland under national coach Uwe Hohn, Chopra will head into the continental meet in good shape. His major competitors for the title will include Asian record holder Chao-Tsun Cheng of Chinese Taipei, with a season best of 84.60 metres and Qatar’s Ahmed Badour with a SB of 83.71 m. Cheng might be the thrower to challenge Neeraj, the Taipei thrower setting an all-time best Asian mark of 91.36 metres at the Universiade in 2017.

However, it must be noted that Neeraj still holds the five longest throws in Asia in 2018 and eight of the top 15. With both Cheng and Badour displaying the ability to throw 85-plus metres in the past, the Javelin will still be a wide-open competition.