Neeraj Chopar will participate in Paavo Nurmi Games 2024 in Finland, may face tough challenge from Max Dehning

Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will participate in the Paavo Nurmi Games 2024 to be held in Turku, Finland on January 18. The Paavo Nurmi Games, held every summer, is Finland’s top track and field competition. This competition was first organized in 1957. An event called the Continental Tour Gold is a top level world athletics competition.

In these games, Neeraj may face a tough challenge from 19-year-old Max Dehning of Germany. This information was given by the organizers of the Paavo Nurmi Games. In fact, Dehning recently became the youngest player to cross the 90 meter hurdle. 26-year-old Chopra will start his season with the Doha Diamond League meet on May 10. He won the silver medal at the 2022 season of the Paavo Nurmi Games with a throw of 89.30 metres. This is the second best throw of his career. He had withdrawn his name from this event in 2023 due to injury.

Neeraj Chopra’s personal best is 89.94 metres. Paavo Nurmi The Games are named after the Finnish middle- and long-distance runner. It is a ‘Continental Tour Gold Series’ level competition of World Athletics. It is one of the most prestigious one-day competitions outside the Diamond League Meet Series. “Javelin throw Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will return to Turku in June,” Arttu Salonen, who is responsible for player contracts, said on the tournament’s official website.

Neeraj will compete in the Paavo Nurmi Games after a break of one year where he will face a group of excellent competitors. The competition will be held in Turku on June 18.” He said that apart from Chopra, we already have contracts with German legends Julian Weber and Max Dehning. “Our aim is to hold the toughest javelin throw competition of the summer in Turku before the Paris Olympics,” he said. For this, talks are going on with other players. “We want top domestic names to compete in Turku, led by Oliver Helander (who won gold in the 2022 season with a throw of 89.83m).”

In February this year, Dehning became the youngest player to cross the prestigious 90m hurdle at the ‘German Winter Throwing Championships’ with a distance of 90.20m (11.07m more than his previous best of 79.13m). However, he could throw 80.30 meters in the European Throwing Cup in Leiria, Portugal on March 10. Paavo Nurmi Games website quoted Chopra’s coach Klaus Bartonietz as saying that the Indian had ‘thrown the javelin 90.40 in training at the Belek camp in Turkey a year ago’.

“The record throw in Stockholm (89.94m, Chopra’s best performance) could have crossed the 90m barrier,” he said. Then Chopra threw the javelin from 20-30 cm behind the line. On this basis it was a 90 meter throw.