"I think Brett Lee could throw the javelin well...would like to try with Bumrah too": Neeraj Chopra

New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI): India's world champion and Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Monday shared his pick for the cricketer he believed would be best suited to take up the javelin.

Speaking to JioStar, Neeraj Chopra said, "I have heard that Brett Lee was a javelin thrower. I think he could throw the javelin well, especially when he was in his peak years. I would like to try javelin with Jasprit Bumrah too, and hope he teaches me some bowling skills. While bowling and javelin are both throws, they are very different. I would like to learn from Bumrah."

During his international career, Brett Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. During his time representing Australia, Lee won multiple ICC titles with the team: the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, and the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.

Meanwhile, Neeraj will be in action during the 'Neeraj Chopra Classic' at Bengaluru on July 5. He reclaimed his number one spot in men's javelin throw world rankings from Anderson Peters of Grenada following a string of brilliant performances on the international stage.

World Athletics updated the rankings earlier this week, increasing Neeraj's points to 1,445 compared to Peters' tally of 1,431, according to Olympics.com. Also, Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem sits at number four with 1,370 points to his name.

Neeraj lost his top spot to Peters back in September 2024, just shortly after the Paris Olympics, where he attained a silver medal with a throw of 89.45, and Peters took home the bronze.

The year 2025 has been incredible for Neeraj, as he kickstarted with a win at the Potch Invitational in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in April and followed it up with a very special second-place finish at Doha Diamond League, where he crossed the 90-metre mark for the first time ever with a throw of 90.23 m.

He also went on to secure a second spot in the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland later that month and resumed his winning ways with back-to-back titles at Paris Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike this month, with best efforts of 88.16 m and 85.29 m. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)