Neeraj Chopra, the two-time Olympic and World Championships medal-winning javelin thrower, emerged triumphant at the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic - India’s first-ever international javelin throw event - a World Athletics Category A event. Neeraj, the host of the event, won with his best effort of 86.18m at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. This marked his third title in a row after victories at the Paris Diamond League and the Ostrava Golden Spike last month, demonstrating his remarkable consistency at the international level.

Neeraj clinched the Paris Diamond League (June 20) with an 88.16m throw, while at Ostrava, Czech Republic (June 24), he emerged triumphant with an 85.29m throw.

Competing against the wind under overcast conditions, Neeraj - who attained his season and personal best throw of 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League in May - made a shaky start, committing a foul. However, he amended that with an 86.18m throw in his second attempt, which proved to be the best of the event - and enough to win the competition named after him.

Kenya’s Julius Yego settled for the silver medal with a throw of 84.51m, while Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage bagged the bronze with an effort of 84.34m. India’s Sachin Yadav, the Asian Championships silver medallist, put up a solid show but fell short of a podium finish, ending fourth with a best effort of 82.33m.

Thomas Rohler, the 2016 Rio Olympics champion, was eliminated after the first three throws. His best effort was a 75.85m throw, coming in the first attempt.

In the final eight, along with Neeraj and Sachin, Yashvir Singh had also qualified. He managed a best effort of 79.65m, with all three of his throws in the final round going foul.

Neeraj organised the event in collaboration with JSW Sports, and it was approved by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). The competition featured 12 javelin throwers from across the world — seven top international athletes and five Indian throwers, including Chopra himself.