Tokyo | Defending champion Neeraj Chopra will face Pakistan's Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem in the World Championships finals in a much-anticipated clash between the two cross-border rivals as the duo made the cut in contrasting styles in the qualification round here on Wednesday.

While Chopra stormed into the finals after clearing the automatic qualification mark of 84.50m in his very first throw in Group A, Nadeem (85.28m) spent some anxious time before making the grade in his third and final attempt later in Group B.

According to rules, those who touch the automatic qualifying mark of 84.50m or the best 12 finishers compete in the final round to be held on Thursday.

Chopra is set to face Nadeem for the first time after the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving him a chance to avenge his second-place finish in the French capital. Nadeem had won gold in Paris with a monster throw of 92.97m, while Chopra had a best of 89.45m that night.

The Pakistani has come into the showpiece after competing in just one event in the whole of 2025, winning gold in the Asian Championships in Korea in May. He then underwent a knee surgery in July.

Sachin Yadav also joined Chopra in the finals as second Indian after his 83.67m effort placed him at sixth in Group A and 10th overall. Two other Indians, Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh missed out after finishing 28th and 30th respectively out of 37 competitors in Group A and Group B together.

In the last edition in 2023, India had three javelin throwers in the finals with Kishore Jena and DP Manu finishing fifth and sixth respectively while Chopra won the gold.

The 27-year-old Chopra was the first thrower in the qualification round and he sent his spear to 84.85m without much exertion. Having achieved the objective of making it to the final with minimum effort, the two-time Olympic medallist packed up and left the arena.

He was third in Group A and sixth in the overall standings but that did not matter on the day.

Nadeem, on the other hand, began with a horrendous 76.99m and followed it up with a 74.17m. It seemed for a while that Nadeem, who had also won a silver in the last edition in 2023 behind Chopra, would not make it to the finals.

But the 28-year-old pulled off a 85.28m throw in his third and final attempt to be the fourth automatic qualifier for the finals from Group B. He qualified for the finals at fifth place, just above Chopra.

Chopra has been clubbed with German star Julian Weber, who topped Group A and was second overall with a throw of 87.21m, 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, last edition bronze winner Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic and Sachin in the 19-man Group A qualification round on Wednesday.

The 18-strong Group B featured Nadeem, two-time world champion Anderson Peters, Kenya's 2015 world champion Julius Yego, Brazillian 90m-plus thrower Luiz Da Silva, and Indians Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh, and rising Sri Lankan Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage among others.

Peters topped the qualification round with a season best second round throw of 89.53m, giving enough indication that he could be roaring back to form after an indifferent season.

Dawid Wegner (85.67m) of Poland also made it to the finals as the third automatic qualifier from Group A. Besides Peters and Nadeem, Kenya's Julius Yego (85.96m) -- third overall -- and Curtis Thompson (84.72m) of USA crossed the automatic qualification mark of 84.50m from Group B.

Vadlejch (84.11m), Walcott (83.93m), and Cameron McEntyre (83.03m) of Australia and Pathirage (82.80m) completed the 12-man field for the final.

In the last edition in Budapest, Hungary, Chopra had thrown 88.17m to win the gold, while Nadeem (87.82m) and Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) had pocketed silver and bronze respectively.

Chopra aims to emulate coach Zelezny and Peters in defending title

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Chopra is aiming to become the third male javelin thrower in history to defend the World Championships gold. Czech legend Jan Zelezny (1993, 1995), who is now Chopra's coach, and Peters (2019, 2022) are the other two who have won the world championships crown on two consecutive occasions.

On form, Weber will be the frontrunner for the gold as he has been the most consistent javelin thrower this season. The 31-year-old German has sent the spear to 90m-plus distances three times this year.

He is the world leader with 91.51m and his confidence is high after winning the Diamond League trophy last month.

In head-to-head against Weber this season, Chopra trailed 1-3, the last meeting being last month's Diamond League Final where the Indian could only come up with an 85.01m for a second-place finish.

Chopra breached the coveted 90m mark with a 90.23m throw at the Doha Diamond League in May but the year has also seen the Indian superstar logging some mediocre distances.

Nadeem, on the other hand, may be short on competitive outings ahead of the World Championships but he is capable of producing a winning throw as he had done in Paris Games last year. Before Olympics too, he had participated in just one event in the whole of 2024.

Peters' 89m-plus throw on Wednesday proved that he cannot be written off.

Thursday's fight for gold could see fierce competition among the four top throwers -- Chopra, Weber, Nadeem and Peters.