Neeraj Chopra makes easy work of Max Dehning at Paavo Nurmi Games, allays fitness concerns

It’s a sight to behold when Neeraj Chopra blends speed, strength, and technique perfectly. On Tuesday, the audience at the Paavo Nurmi Stadium in Turku, Finland were treated with the same elegance of his prowess as India enjoyed the spectacle at night.

On his third attempt at the Paavo Nurmi Games 2024, Neeraj felt that perfect synergy of speed, strength, and technique before anyone else as the reigning Olympic and world champions took out the typical celebration – a loud cheer followed by the extension of arms with the index finger pointing towards the sky – even before the javelin had landed.

Once it landed, the screen read: 85.97m. That was enough for the Indian athletics star to
win the World Athletics Continental Tour (Gold level) event
.

Neeraj had made a strong start with his first attempt when he threw the javelin 83.63m away on his first competitive effort since 15 May to lead the field. But local lad Oliver Helander threw 83.96m soon after to surge ahead. Only for Neeraj to do a Neeraj again.

Big competitions and clutch moments bring out the best in the 26-year-old and once the challenge was presented to him in Turku, Neeraj responded swiftly with the biggest throw of the day.

In his next two attempts, he failed to surpass that distance but it wasn’t required either. The second spot went to another Finnish athlete, Toni Keranen, with a throw of 84.19m, while Helander came third. Had he been challenged further, Neeraj could have produced a bigger throw but it was that kind of evening where most of the participants struggled for rhythm.

Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who has a personal best of 93.07m, settled for an 82.58m throw, while 2012 London Olympics champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago only managed a best of 81.93m.

Behind all of them was the new 90m-sensation Max Dehning. In February, the 19-year-old German became the youngest to enter the 90m club, something that
Neeraj has not achieved yet at the competition level
.

The Paavo Nurmi Games were billed as a Neeraj vs Max. But the youngster had terrible time, securing a best of 79.84m after only three legal throws out of six. Highlighting, once again, that talent alone is not enough, temperament counts for more.

Neeraj, meanwhile, had five legal throws and crossed the 80m mark on all attempts: a big tick ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024 especially given how he had to pull out of the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet 2024 late last month
due to fitness issues
. The Finland outing has allayed those fears.

Next up for Neeraj is the Paris Diamond League before the big test at the Summer Games.