Neeraj Chopra backs Jasprit Bumrah to excel in javelin throw

India's world champion and Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra feels that Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah can excel in his discipline. Neeraj will be in action during the Neeraj Chopra Classic at Bengaluru on July 5. Ahead of the event, he was quoted as saying by Olympics.com to Star Sports,

"I think it would be a fast bowler (A good javelin thrower from other sport), for sure. So, I think a fully fit Jasprit Bumrah, in his prime, will be good at it."

Fast bowlers and javelin throwers both require a strong, steady run-up to build momentum. Good speed and timing are extremely important, so are powerful legs, core and shoulders for an explosive finish. Jasprit Bumrah is currently the top-ranked Test bowler in the world and a massive part of India's pace attack. In the recent Leeds Test against England, he took a five-wicket haul in the first innings and went wicketless while defending 371 runs for the team.

On the other hand, Chopra reclaimed his number one spot in men's javelin throw world rankings from Anderson Peters of Grenada following a string of brilliant performances on the international stage. World Athletics updated the rankings earlier this week, increasing Neeraj's points to 1,445 compared to Peters' tally of 1,431, according to Olympics.com. Also, Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem sits at number four with 1,370 points to his name.

Neeraj lost his top spot to Peters back in September 2024, just shortly after the Paris Olympics, where he attained a silver medal with a throw of 89.45, and Peters took home the bronze. The year 2025 has been incredible for Neeraj, as he kickstarted with a win at the Potch Invitational in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in April and followed it up with a very special second-place finish at Doha Diamond League, where he crossed the 90-metre mark for the first time ever with a throw of 90.23 m.

He also went on to secure a second spot in the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland later that month and resumed his winning ways with back-to-back titles at Paris Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike this month, with best efforts of 88.16 m and 85.29 m. (ANI)