Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra is going to step in as an organizer with the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic javelin throw competition, which has been scheduled to be staged at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, Haryana, on 24th May, the World Athletics confirmed on Thursday.

Scheduled as NC Classic, the one-day javelin throw meet is classified as a World Athletics ‘A’ category event, equal to a Continental Tour Gold-level competition in ranking points. The Continental Tour, a second-tier global athletics series behind the Diamond League, was launched in 2020 as the successor to the World Challenge series and features four tiers – gold, silver, bronze, and challenger.

With two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and then followed it up with a silver in 2024, the NC Classic 2025 will see some of the top javelin throwers from all around the world competing in India for the first time.

This is the biggest javelin throw event to be held in India and will be organized by Neeraj Chopra in association with JSW. The organizers are willing to make it an annual fixture in the world athletics calendar.

The NC Classic will also serve as a crucial qualification event for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo from 13th to 21st September, though Chopra, the reigning world champion, has already secured his spot, according to a report on Olympics.com.

More recently, India hosted the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi last month and is set to stage its first-ever Para Athletics World Championships in September-October.