Neeraj gunning for top spot

Zurich, August 30

Newly-crowned world champion Neeraj Chopra will look to maintain his unbeaten streak in the prestigious Diamond League when he competes in a star-studded men’s javelin throw field here tomorrow. Chopra on Sunday clinched his maiden World Championships title in Budapest with a throw of 88.17m. He also became only the third javelin thrower in history to hold both the Olympics and World Championships titles after world record holder Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic and Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.

The 25-year-old Chopra has been unbeaten this season, having won two Diamond League meetings, in Doha (May 5) and Lausanne (June 30), before his World Championships triumph.

In Zurich, Chopra will be up against familiar rivals such as Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch and Germany’s Julian Weber, who finished third and fourth in Budapest, respectively, and two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada. Silver medallist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan will miss the event.

Chopra, who won the Diamond League last year, sits third with 16 points from two events. Vadlejch (21 points from three events) and Weber (19 from three events) are first and second, respectively. Peters, who has been struggling this season and failed to qualify for the final round in the World Championships, is fourth with 15 points from three events.

The Zurich leg is the last one in the Diamond League series where men’s javelin throw is on the roster before the season finale in Eugene, USA, on September 16-17.

Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar will also be in action and he would be looking to redeem himself after failing to qualify for the final round at the World Championships.

Sreeshankar, who has a season’s and personal best of 8.41m, jumped a below-par 7.74m to finish 22nd overall. He is currently third in the long jump standings this season, with 10 points from two events. — PTI

India set to bid for 2027 Worlds: Chopra

Zurich: India will be bidding for the 2027 World Championships, Neeraj Chopra said today. “India are bidding. I will request the fans, and hopefully they will come in great numbers. Now, javelin (throw) is famous in India. The Indian people are so supportive, and they are now taking interest in athletics,” he said. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is planning to bid for the 2027 World Championships, but will first need to get approval from the government. As of now, the AFI is yet to approach the government, while Beijing has already announced its bid. The bid submission deadline is October 2.