Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra misses out on Diamond League meet
With a berth in the final certain for later this month in Brussels, Indian javelin star
Neeraj Chopra has decided not to compete in the Diamond League event in Zurich
on Thursday, September 5. With 14 points from two outings, including second
places in the Doha and Lausanne events on May 10 and August 22, respectively,
Chopra is presently tied for third in the Diamond League men’s javelin standings
for 2024.
The top six athletes advance to the Diamond League final in every field event.
Julian Weber of Germany is tied with Chopra on 14 points and shares the third
spot with the two-time Olympic medalist. With 9 and 8 points, respectively, Artur
Felfner of Ukraine and Andrian Mardare of Moldova are ranked fifth and sixth.
The 26-year-old Indian track and field athlete would still qualify for the final in
sixth place even if Weber, Felfner, and Mardare finished ahead of Chopra. With
only two races under his belt, Roderick Genki Dean, presently ranked seventh, can
only tie Chopra for seventh place if he wins the Zurich meet and scores eight
points.
To place higher on the leaderboard even then, he’ll need to surpass Chopra’s
season-best throw of 89.49 meters, which was recorded in Lausanne last month.
The likes of Weber, Felfner, Mardare, and Dean are scheduled to participate in
the tournament. Julius Yego of Kenya, Lassi Etelatalo of Finland, and Anderson
Peters of Grenada, who won bronze in the Olympics in Paris, are also competing.
After making three appearances and scoring 21 points, Peters has already
advanced to the championship game. Yego, on the other hand, is in tenth place
with just four points, making it highly improbable that he will be in Brussels later
this month. Arshad Nadeem, the current Olympic champion, is not present in
Zurich and ends the season with just five points from one game.
Chopra had produced the greatest throw of the season at the Olympics in Paris
earlier this month, with a second attempt of 89.45 meters. Later in September, in
the Lausanne Diamond League event, he would surpass that throw by just four
centimeters. In both instances, the Indian was denied a gold medal by his
opponents’ 90-meter throws. Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan won the event gold
medal in Paris, setting a new record with a throw measuring 92.97 meters, while
Peters of Switzerland won the event in Lausanne with a throw of 90.61 meters.

Chopra, who has been battling a persistent groin problem in recent months, came
very close to breaking the elusive 90-meter mark for the first time in his career
and will be aiming to achieve the feat and win the Diamond League Trophy for the
second time in three years in the Belgian capital on 13 and 14 September.
Chopra was set to consult the doctors and undergo surgery following the Olympic
games. However, he decided to postpone the plan and eyes to finish the season
on a high note. Even though Chopra might not breach the 90-meter mark this
year, fans expect him to break it once all his physical issues are resolved.