Bengaluru, July 4 (IANS) As the Neeraj Chopra Classic gears up its first-ever edition, scheduled for Saturday, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist Julius Yego of Kenya expressed disappointment following the withdrawal of top athletes, including Grenadian star Anderson Peters and backed the strong field to shine with 90m show.

Two-time world champion Peters was ruled out of the World Athletics category A javelin event due to an ankle injury just a few days before the competition, with Poland’s Cyprian Mrzyglod replacing him in the lineup.

Peters’ withdrawal came just a day after India’s Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Jena was ruled out of the competition due to an ankle injury. His fellow Indian javelin thrower Yash Vir Singh replaced Jena in the final entry list for the comprtition.

“It’s a shame that Peters was not able to be here. He is a good friend of ours. We really wanted him to compete,” Yego told IANS. “But then, you know, your health is very important, and I wish him a quick recovery so that he comes back stronger. We made this sport very interesting.”

Despite Peters’ absence, Yego remains upbeat about the competition’s quality. “Those of us here are very good athletes. Thomas Rohler has thrown 90m, Neeraj has thrown 90m. The others too have thrown 84m or 85m. They can be able even to do 90m. Who knows, they can even do it tomorrow,” he said.

Yego, who learned the fundamentals of javelin by watching YouTube videos and has been trailblazing javelin’s rise in Africa, signed off by highlighting the larger purpose of the event which is to promote and popularise the javelin in India. “It’s all about enjoying the sport and making javelin more popular in India,” he said.

As a World Athletics-sanctioned Gold level meet, the Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025 becomes India’s first-ever international javelin competition. The event is officially sanctioned by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

–IANS

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