A Diamond forever: Chopra reigns supreme in Lausanne

Lausanne, July 1

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Tokyo Olympics champion Neeraj Chopra clinched the prestigious Diamond League title for the second consecutive time by throwing his spear to 87.66 metres on Friday but the coveted 90m mark eluded the star Indian javelin thrower yet again.

Coming back from a one-month injury lay-off, Chopra’s title-winning performance at the Lausanne leg in challenging conditions was below his own top-10 efforts but still stamped his authority in the prestigious one-day meet. The 25-year-old Chopra, who had skipped three top events due to a muscle strain sustained last month, had won the season-opening Doha leg on May 5 with his fourth career-best throw of 88.67m.

Chopra, who usually produces his best in early rounds, had to wait till his fifth attempt to lead the field. He was at the second spot till the end of the fourth round.

Chopra began with a foul and then registered throws of 83.52m and 85.04m. He had another foul in the fourth round before coming up with his title-winning throw of 87.66m next. His sixth and last throw went to 84.15m.

“I was feeling a bit nervous coming back from an injury. It was a bit cold here tonight. I am still far from my best, but I feel it is getting better,” Chopra said after his win. “I am relieved it is coming together well for me. A win is a win and I will take that happily.” Germany’s Julian Weber was second with a best throw of 87.03m, while season-leader Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic was third with an 86.13m effort.

In the men’s long jump, India’s Murali Sreeshankar finished fifth with a below-par jump of 7.88m, which he achieved in the third round. Bahamas LaQuan Nairn took the top spot. PTI

Chopra to feature at Worlds now

New Delhi: Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will straightaway compete in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest starting August 19, without participating in any other meet after his exploits in the Diamond League in Lausanne. “The next competition, Budapest, will be a big one for me,” Chopra said after winning the Lausanne leg. “I wanted to win so I’m super happy with the results but I also want to go back to training and fix some of the things that I noticed and those are going to make me stronger.” Chopra’s coach Dr Klaus Bartonietz also confirmed his decision. PTI

Sable to compete in Stockholm leg

Stockholm: India’s top 3,000m steeplechase runner Avinash Sable will compete in his second Diamond League of the season at the Stockholm leg tomorrow, where he would look to better his own performance from last event. The 28-year-old Sable had finished 10th, clocking a below-par 8:17.18 seconds at the Diamond League meeting in Rabat, Morocco on May 28 in his only 3000m steeplechase race of the year so far. He would be aiming to improve his timing here.