Javelin star Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Diamond League season finale in Brussels despite injury challenges
India’s two-time Olympic medalist in javelin, Neeraj Chopra, has secured a spot in the upcoming Diamond League season finale after finishing fourth in the overall standings at the conclusion of the 14 series meetings held globally.
India’s two-time Olympic medalist in javelin, Neeraj Chopra, has secured a spot in the upcoming Diamond League season finale after finishing fourth in the overall standings at the conclusion of the 14 series meetings held globally.
The season finale, scheduled for September 13-14 in Brussels, will be a two-day event. Chopra earned 14 points from two second-place finishes in the one-day meets in Doha and Lausanne. However, he opted out of the final series meet in Zurich on Thursday.
The 26-year-old is currently two points behind Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch. Grenada’s Anderson Peters and Germany’s Julian Weber lead the standings with 29 and 21 points, respectively. Peters had narrowly defeated Weber at the Zurich event.
Chopra, who claimed gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and silver at the Paris Games last month, has faced fitness challenges throughout this season.
The Haryana native, Neeraj Chopra, has opened up about a persistent groin injury that has troubled him since before the Olympic Games, hindering his pursuit of the elusive 90m mark.
Chopra finished second in the Lausanne Diamond League, where he was outperformed by Grenada’s Anderson Peters, who registered a throw of 90.61m. At the Paris Olympics, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem clinched the gold with a massive throw of 92.97m.
"First goal, go to the doctor and make my groin 100 per cent fit and also I will be technically better and try to throw far again," he had said last month about his plans for this year and the coming one.
Chopra had claimed victory in the Lausanne leg in both 2022 and 2023, and finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch in last year's winner-takes-all finale in Eugene, USA.
Each Diamond League season finale champion receives the prestigious "Diamond Trophy," along with USD 30,000 in prize money and a wild card entry to the World Athletics Championships.
The upcoming Diamond League finale will mark the conclusion of Chopra's season.
- 90m mark
- 92.97m
- Anderson Peters
- Arshad Nadeem
- Brussels
- Diamond League season finale
- Diamond Trophy
- Doha
- Eugene USA
- Jakub Vadlejch
- Julian Weber
- Lausanne
- Lausanne Diamond League
- Neeraj Chopra
- Olympic medalist
- Paris Games
- Tokyo Olympics
- USD 30
- World Athletics Championships
- Zurich
- fourth overall standings
- groin injury
- javelin
- season conclusion