India, Sept. 18 -- Neeraj Chopra's title defence at World Championships ended in a whimper with the Paris Olympics silver medallist finishing a disappointing eighth in Tokyo on Thursday.

Coming into the competition as one of the medal prospects, the two-time Worlds medallist looked out of rhythm and failed to produce a single significant throw, registering a best of 84.03m that came in his second attempt.

Sachin Yadav, the other Indian in the final, ended a creditable fourth, crossing his personal best (85.16) thrice with a best of 86.27m that came in his opening attempt.

Chopra opened his campaign with a modest 83.65m and by the time the first sequence ended, the Tokyo Olympics champion found himself in unfamiliar territory. Sitting i...