Ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday endured the pain of missing out on a medal after he finished a lowly eighth at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The two-time Olympic medalist struggled for form, managing a best throw of 84.02m, which was far short of his personal best of 90.23m.
The below-par performance brought an end to his seven-year-long medal-winning streak at international competitions.
Remarkably, it is the first time he has failed to finish in the top two at a major event in the past four years.
Since the Kourtane Games in Finland in 2021, where he finished third, Neeraj had always managed a top-two finish in major events.
Also, fans could not get the best of the India-Pakistan rivalry between Neeraj and Arshad Nadeem, as the Olympic champion Nadeem also had a disappointing outing, finishing 10th after a series of poor throws and a best effort of 82.75m.
The title went to Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott (88.16m). It was his maiden World Championship gold, which came 13 years after his Olympic triumph in London.
Grenada's Anderson Peters (87.38m) and Curtis Thompson (86.67m) finished second and third.