Neeraj Chopra at Paavo Nurmi Games 2024 Highlights: Neeraj clinches top spot in Finland on return to action | Sport-others News

Fitness test for Neeraj Chopra with German wonderkid Max Dehning in fray

“It will be fun to compete with him,” Olympic and World Champion Neeraj Chopra had said when asked about his assessment of young German Max Dehning in April.
Dehning was 19-years-old in February when he became the youngest to throw 90 metres in Halle. Dehning hit the headlines, the hory-maker’s unexpected upswing in dance became a talking point too. From a best of 79.13 metres, Dehning had surged to 90.20m. The rise of a new German challenger months before the Olympics was an exciting prospect.
On Tuesday evening, Neeraj and Dehning will be among the eight men at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. He has a 90-metre throw against his name, but Dehning hasn’t entered the big league yet. Since his big throw, he has orbited between the 80-82 metre mark. A 12th-place finish in the European Championships last week saw him dip to 76.16 metres. “Your only competition is yourself,” he had posted on Instagram from Rome. READ MORE