The last time Neeraj Chopra competed at Commonwealth Games, he won gold in 2018. The next edition passed him by because of a groin injury. Now, after nearly nine months out and a return to competition only last month, the Olympic champion gets another chance to fight for the title in Glasgow.Competing at Doha Diamond League on June 19, where he had breached the 90m mark for the first time in his career last year, Chopra produced a best throw of 85.69m. It wasn’t enough for a top-three finish, but it did help him qualify for Commonwealth Games.It was well short of his personal best of 90.23m, but Chopra has sounded confident since arriving in Glasgow and is focused on reclaiming the CWG title he won in 2018.While the qualifiers are scheduled for Thursday, the final on Saturday night is unlikely to be a walk in the park as he will be up against long-time rival Arshad Nadeem, besides the likes of Anderson Peters, Julius Yego and Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage.Nadeem hasn’t had the best of seasons this year but comes into the tournament as the defending champion after winning gold in 2022 with a throw of 90.18m. Yego, too, has struggled to hit top form in 2026 but finished third in Birmingham with an effort of 85.70m.Peters, who finished second in 2022, has, meanwhile, been in fine touch, with a best throw of 86.38m at Doha Diamond League. Australia’s Cameron McEntyre has also made big strides this year and remains just ahead of Chopra on this season’s world list.However, the biggest attraction will be Sri Lanka’s Pathirage after he unleashed a world-leading 92.62m at Rome Diamond League. Besides that, he has also registered throws of 89.37m, 89.28m and 88.68m this year, and Chopra admitted he has been impressed by the youngster.But the dark horse in the event could well be India’s Rohit Yadav. He heads into the tournament after winning gold at Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar with a massive throw of 87.05m. This will be his second Commonwealth Games after finishing sixth in Birmingham with a best of 82.22m.“I missed out last time, but I am going there to win a medal this time,” Yadav had said in Bhubaneswar.While Neeraj’s performances over the years have always inspired him to do better, Yadav is also taking confidence from the impressive performances of Indian athletes over the past few months.“Everyone has a lot of belief in themselves these days and they feel that they can also achieve great things,” added the 25-year-old.He, however, is confident there is no need to worry about Chopra despite his return to competition only last month. “He can produce big throws in any competition,” Yadav had said.Neeraj, though, is more focused on winning titles rather than producing big throws, and he will take the first step towards that when he competes in the qualifiers on Thursday.
