India, Sept. 17 -- The men's javelin final will be spiced up by a mouthwatering contest between reigning world champion Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships on Thursday. However, it may not mirror the last two global meets where Chopra won gold at 2023 Budapest and Nadeem went from silver in that Worlds to gold in the Paris Olympics with a stunning first throw that pushed the Indian stalwart to second.

On Wednesday, they sealed qualification in contrasting fashion. Chopra achieved automatic qualification (84.50m) with his first throw of 84.85m before checking with a track official on the exit out of the Japan National Stadium, a venue where he gave India its greatest athle...