Its been three years, a period during which he became the Olympic and world champion and also defended his Asian Games gold medal, Neeraj Chopra is set to compete on home soil again.

The 26-year-old Chopra will be the biggest attraction in the javelin throw event during the 27th Federation Cup. The last time he took part in a domestic competition, it was the same event in Patiala three years ago, prior to the Summer Games in Tokyo.

Chopra enters the tournament after finishing second in the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 88.36m. Whether he goes full tilt to set a new national record (currently 89.94m) and aims to breach the magical barrier of 90m remains to be seen, given the quick turnaround from Doha.

Along with Chopra, Kishore Kumar Jena also features in the entry list for javelin. Jena, who hails from Kothasahi, a small hamlet in Puri district of Odisha, surprised everyone when he recorded a massive personal best of 87.54m to not only clinch silver at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year but also book his spot for Olympics.

The 28-year-old Jena had a disappointing season-opener in Doha, finishing ninth with 76.31m and will hope to do much better in front of home fans.

As per Athletics Federation of India (AFI) rules, the athletes who have crossed 75m will directly participate in the javelin final on Wednesday. Three will make it to the final through the qualifying round.