Indian javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra on Saturday clinched the inaugural NC Classic as he realised his dream of hosting and competing in a world class event in front of the home crowd and family members. The 27-year-old double Olympic medallist emerged winner with his third round throw of 86.18m at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium watched by his parents. This was his third straight title, having won in Paris Diamond League (June 20) and Golden Spike in Ostrava, Poland (June 24).

Kenya's 2025 world champion Julius Yego was second with 84.51m while Rumesh Pathirage (84.34m) of Sri Lanka was third.

It was a tough outing for all the competitors as they had to throw under a strong wind blowing almost head-on.

Chopra later said he wasn’t happy with the distance but was satisfied, considering the windy conditions.

"Of course, I wanted to win. My goal was to complete this event successfully. It has went off smoothly," Chopra, who had crossed 90m in the Doha Diamond League in May with a throw of 90.23m, said later at the press conference.

“I was expecting a good result but the wind of quite heavy and I am happy to win. It was mentally quite tough for me as I knew people expected me to win. I had come here after participating in two events and hence I was under pressure to perform in front of home crowd.

"Wind was blowing from the front and even changing direction, so it was difficult conditions.

He admitted he had some technical issues while throwing against the wind in the first few attempts. He was seen having discussion with his coach, the world record holder Jan Zelezny, who was watching at the corner of the stadium from a few meters away, after almost every throw.

"I have technical issues initially but my coach told me to throw straight," he said.

"With a lot of cheer from the crowd, I did my first two throw with a lot of fervour and I fouled my first throw. Coach told me to cool down and relax. Yego also told me to relax. Both Yego and Pathirage pushed me to do better. I want to thank them." He said he was surprised that so many people would turn up for the inaugural edition of the NC Classic..

Organised by Chopra himself in collaboration with JSW Sports and sanctioned by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), the event featured a world-class field of 12 javelin throwers -- seven top international throwers and five Indian athletes, including Chopra himself.

The NC Classic has been given category A status by World Athletics.

Chopra, who breached the 90m barrier in May, is coming off a victory at the Ostrava Golden Spike 2025, where he won the javelin throw title with a best effort of 85.29 metres.

Chopra began with a foul but soon took the lead in his second attempt of 82.99m..

Sri Lankan Pathirage, who was second after the second round, had an impressive throw of 84.34m in his third attempt which invited a big roar from the crowd.

But Chopra, who was the last in order of throw, was not to be intimidated by the athlete from the neighbouring country as he sent his spear to a distance of 86.18m, leaving the other competitors far behind.

With his familiar raising of both hands in the air, Chopra celebrated that big throw and the crowd responded with a deafening cheer.

After the first three throws, the last four finishers were eliminated.

Yego overtook Pathirage for the second spot with a fourth round effort of 84.51m while Chopra fouled his fourth attempt.

Chopra's fifth throw measured 84.07m and he later said that he had thought it would even a longer distance than his eventual winning effort.

"I think I gave the javelin a lot of height and if you do that it may stop (to fall at shorter distance).

His last attempt measured 82.22m.

Yego, on his part, suggested that one or two events like long jump and triple jump can be added in the NC Classic in the future.

India has a top long jumper in Murali Sreeshankar, who is now recovering from a surgery but has earlier finished in the top-three in a Diamond League meeting.

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