NEW DELHI: Star of India Neeraj Chopra will compete at the Asian Games in Japan later this year as he seeks to defend his gold medal, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) selection committee chairman Adille Sumariwalla confirmed on Saturday.The two-time Olympic medalist has already confirmed his participation in the Commonwealth Games, and the AFI has now made it clear that he will also be part of India’s campaign at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.‘They will do both’Sumariwalla said Chopra has recovered well from the lower leg injury that delayed the start of his 2026 season.“Yes. He (Chopra) will participate in Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. He has already qualified and is recovering. He has done 86m (85.69m) in his first event, which is very good,” Sumariwalla told PTI.“He won gold with 88m (in the 2022 Asian Games in China), so he is close to 86m, so we don’t see why he can’t do well at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.”Chopra made his season at the Doha Diamond League, where he finished fourth with a personal best throw of 85.69m after recovering from a back injury.A tough challenge awaitsChopra will travel to Japan as the defending Asian Games after winning gold in Hangzhou in 2023 with a throw of 88.88m.The men’s javelin is expected to be highly competitive, with Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, who cleared 90m earlier this year, one of the contenders. Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem could also be in the field.Think about peaking at the right timeSumariwalla said that the AFI has left it to Chopra and his support staff to decide whether he needs another competition before the Commonwealth Games.“We have left it to him (about the competition before the CWG), we are saying that his medical team, his coach, everyone will sit together and discuss what competitions are needed for him to win,” he said.“The most important thing was for him to qualify, which he did. Now the most important thing is how we can get him to be at the peak of the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.”India hopes to host the World ChampionshipsSumariwalla also said that India is still in the race to host the 2029 or 2031 World Athletics Championships in Ahmedabad. The country has also bid to host the 2028 World U20 tournament.“We made requests to get all these races in Ahmedabad. A team from World Athletics was there in Ahmedabad, along with the chairman of the charter committee. They looked at the damage, checked the transportation, hotels, services, weather, food, everything.”“It is a very difficult competition, there is London which has held the World Championships and the Olympic Games, there is Munich which has also held the Olympic Games, there is Kenya which has held two Junior World Championships, so the battle is big.”“We explained to them how we can do it best and let’s wait to see what happens. The decision about the host city will be taken at the meeting after the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest (September 11-13).AFI is confident ahead of the Asian GamesLooking ahead to the Asian Games, Sumariwalla said the organization expects India to do better than its previous record.“Based on what we see, things are going well, we have to do better than we did in the past.”“Although the government said that those who are in sixth and eighth place (in selection), we are taking those who are in third or fourth place in most cases. However, many people are qualified, so it only shows the strength of the bench, it only shows that what AFI is doing is correct, that AFI’s method is working and we are on the right path.