Neeraj Chopra, India's javelin superstar, is set to kick off his 2025 athletics season at the Doha Diamond League in Qatar on Friday, May 16th. The event is taking place at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium.

Chopra, the reigning world champion and Olympic silver medalist, is eager to start the new season on a high note. He is joined by fellow Indian javelin thrower Kishore Jena, as well as other top athletes from around the world. Some notable names include Jakub Vadlejch (2023 winner) and Anderson Peters (2024 winner). However, Arshad Nadeem, who won gold at the Paris Olympics last year, will not be participating. Other athletes in the men's javelin event include Julian Weber and Max Dehning of Germany, Julius Yego of Kenya, and Roderick Genki Dean of Japan.

Neeraj has a new coach, former Olympic gold medalist Jan Zelezny, who has helped him make minor adjustments to his routine. Although it took some time to adjust to the changes, Neeraj feels ready and excited for the new season. He had been experiencing some groin issues, but those are now in the past.

Having finished second in the Diamond League in the past two years, Neeraj will begin his pursuit of a title in Doha. The men's javelin event is scheduled to start at 10:15 PM IST.

Besides Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena in the men's javelin throw, Parul Chaudhary and Gulveer Singh are the other Indian athletes in action at the Doha Diamond League 2025.

The Doha Diamond League 2025 marks Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's first Diamond League appearance since 2022. Letsile Tebogo will also be competing in his first 200m of the season.

Neeraj believes that javelin is slowly becoming a global event and is no longer restricted to European athletes. He also runs his own competition, the Neeraj Chopra Classic, as a platform to showcase the sport to Indian masses and help it grow.