India’s man with the golden arm, javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra, clinched the inaugural eponymous Neeraj Chopra Classic. With that, Chopra realised his dream of hosting and competing in a world-class event in front of his home crowd. The 27-year-old double Olympic medallist emerged winner with his third-round throw of 86.18 m at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. He had won in the Paris Diamond League (June 20) and Golden Spike in Ostrava, Poland (June 24). Kenya’s 2025 world champion Julius Yego was second with 84.51 m, while Rumesh Pathirage (84.34 m) of Sri Lanka was third. This event featured a world-class field of 12 javelin throwers. The NC Classic was given category A status by World Athletics.

While there is much to cheer about, we want to see the Neeraj Chopra effect producing an assembly line of potential champions from the country. Chopra’s achievements must set in motion a system which can move India towards domination in the event. Athletics talent scouts scouring local events and even rural villages for talent can be the first step. Then, we must have a system where they can be trained and have opportunities to compete at grassroots levels. Those opportunities must be challenging enough to push them to improve performance.

As they climb the ladder, a professional approach — coaches, some money for equipment, training, chances to move out elsewhere from their home town for training and competition, the entire athletics or sporting evolution must be followed.