Diamond League: Neeraj Chopra lands another opportunity

PTI

Eugene (US), September 15

A World Championships gold was the crowning glory of the season but superstar javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has a title to defend as he takes the field against familiar rivals at the prestigious Diamond League Final here tomorrow.

3 If Chopra takes the trophy at the Prefontaine Classic, he will become only the third man to defend the Diamond League overall title

The 25-year-old Chopra lifted the Diamond League champion’s trophy in Zurich last year and would be looking to do the same again after dominating the season, which saw him win his maiden Worlds title in Budapest last month.

If Chopra takes the trophy and pockets the $30,000 prize money at the Prefontaine Classic, he will become only the third man to defend the Diamond League overall title, though the format changed in 2017.

Vitezslav Vesely of the Czech Republic was the Diamond League champion in 2012 and 2013, while compatriot Jakub Vadlejch, who is Chopra’s closest rival, did the same in 2016 and 2017.

Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94 metres, won two legs — one in Doha on May 5 and one in Lausanne on June 30 — before clinching a historic Worlds gold.

In between Doha and Lausanne, he had a groin strain while training that kept him out of competition for nearly one month.

Chopra had become only the third javelin thrower in history to hold both the Olympics and Worlds crowns after winning the title in Budapest with a throw of 88.17m.

Just a few days later, he competed in the Zurich leg on August 31, where he finished second behind Vadlejch. It was the first time that Chopra didn’t finish in the first place this season.

Besides defending his title, he would also be looking to breach the 90m mark, a milestone that has eluded him so far. The Indian will be returning to the Hayward Field where he won silver in the 2022 Worlds behind Anderson Peters of Grenada, who will also be in action tomorrow.

Vadlejch, who won bronze in the Budapest Worlds and silver in the Tokyo Olympics behind Chopra, has been a consistent campaigner on the global stage and owns the world season lead at 89.51m.

With a personal best of 90.88m, he would be looking to turn the tables on Chopra, who had beaten him in the Diamond League Final last year.

Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and 3,000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable had also qualified for the final meet in their respective events but decided to pull out to focus on the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.

With the Asian Games beginning next week, Chopra will have to find a way to peak at both the events. “There is hardly any time between those competitions,” Chopra said recently. “I have to be prepared for both Eugene and the Asian Games. The main thing is the travel time and it will be a problem. I have to give it my all at the Diamond League Finals and at the Asian Games, which will the last competition for me this year. There is no time but I have to be mentally prepared and be mindful of recovery, nutrition and plan it well,” he added.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Javelin Throw #Neeraj Chopra #United States of America USA