Neeraj Chopra

The 28-year-old Olympic gold medallist and former world champion is India's best bet for the top honour in the men's javelin throw event at the Commonwealth Games 2026. He faces his biggest rival in Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who will be defending his javelin throw title at the CWG. Neeraj, who won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021, did not participate in the last edition of the Commonwealth Games, held in Birmingham in 2022, due to injury. Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, with a throw of 88.17m.

At the Paris Olympics 2024, Neeraj was outplayed by Arshad Nadeem and had to settle for a silver medal despite a best throw of 89.45m. Arshad claimed the top honour with a stunning throw of 92.97m.

Earlier, Chopra made history in 2018 by winning gold medals at both the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat in the javelin throw at both competitions. He even went on to defend his Asian Games title in Hangzhou in 2023.

However, Neeraj's biggest achievement remains the gold medal he won at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Chopra threw his javelin to a distance of 87.58m to clinch India's first-ever track and field gold medal in the history of the quadrennial event.

In June 2026, Neeraj returned to action after a long injury layoff. He finished fourth in the men's javelin throw competition at the Doha Diamond League in Qatar. While he failed to secure a podium finish, Neeraj comfortably surpassed India's qualification mark for the Commonwealth Games 2026, set at 82.61m, with a throw of 82.77m.