Neeraj Chopra Classic postponed indefinitely

New Delhi: The inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic, scheduled to be held on May 24 in Bengaluru, was on Friday postponed indefinitely with the organisers saying that the "thoughts at this point are only with our armed forces, who are at the forefront for our nation".

Double Olympic medallist Chopra, who is also a part of the organising team, announced the postponement of the high-profile javelin event by posting a statement on on 'X'.

The announcement came on the day when popular T20 League IPL was also postponed for a week amid heightened tension with Pakistan.

"In the light of the current situation, the inaugural edition of the NC Classic stands postponed until further notice," the statement from Team NC Classic read.

"This decision has been made after careful thought and consultation, with the well-being of athletes, stakeholders, and the broader community as the top priority.

"We believe in the unifying power of sport. But, in this critical moment, standing firm with the nation matters most. All our gratitude and thoughts at this point are only with our Armed Forces, who are at the forefront for our nation. Jai Hind," added the statement.

The event was to be jointly organised by Chopra and JSW Sports in collaboration with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and World Athletics.

It was granted category A status by World Athletics and was expected to be graced by a number of Olympic medallists, including the Indian superstar himself.

It was shifted to the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru from the original venue of Panchkula a few days back due to inadequate lighting for live telecast.

A 'dream project' of Chopra, the event was announced with much fanfare but it remains to be seen whether it finds place in the busy international calendar.

Chopra will compete in the Doha Diamond League on May 16 and he has Ostrava Golden Spike lined up on June 24 after that.

"I'm very much involved in the organisation of the event. It's a long-standing dream for me to organise this kind of event in India. It's dream true for me," Chopra had said last month in a virtual interaction.

"I am very excited. I have won Olympic and other medals for the country. Now with this event, I am giving back something to Indian athletics, to Indian athletes and the fans." India launched missile attacks on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir a fortnight after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. Five Indian were in the fray while seven top javelin throwers from abroad were also scheduled to compete. The four other Indians are Kishore Jena, Sachin Yadav, Rohit Yadav and Sahil Silwal.

The foreign competitors for the event were two-time world champion Anderson Peters (PB: 93.07m) of Grenada, 2016 Olympics gold winner Thomas Rohler (PB: 93.90m) of Germany, 2015 world champion Julius Yego (92.72m) of Kenya, American Curtis Thompson (current season leader with 87.76m), Asian Games bronze medallist Genki Dean (PB: 84.28m) of Japan, Rumesh Pathirage (PB: 85.45m) of Sri Lanka, Luiz Mauricio da Silva (PB: 85.91m) of Brazil.