Neeraj Chopra Is A Diamond League Champion

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The Sports Times News Bureau
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New  Delhi, September 09, 2022: Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra achieved yet another historic feat on Thursday, becoming the first Indian to win a prestigious Diamond League Finals title in Zurich.

He began his event with a foul, but rose to the top spot with a throw of 88.44 metres — his fourth career best — in his second attempt, which turned out to be his winning effort.

He cleared distances of 88.00m, 86.11m, 87.00m and 83.60m in his next four throws.

Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic finished second with a best throw of 86.94m, registered in his fourth attempt.

Germany’s Julian Weber was third with a best of 83.73m.

The 24-year-old Indian superstar is now holds the titles of Olympic champion, World Championships silver medallist and Diamond League champion — all achieved in just 13 months.

Chopra, who won the Tokyo Olympics gold on August 7, 2021, has now produced 88 metres-plus throws six times this season, which reflects his consistency. He holds the National record of 89.94m, achieved this season.

He also ended his international season with a history-scripting performance.

The Diamond League Finals is considered the most prestigious competition after the Olympics and World Championships.

It was Chopra’s third appearance in the Diamond League Finals. He finished seventh and fourth respectively in 2017 and 2018.

He was also awarded a Diamond Trophy, US $30,000 prize-money and a wild card for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

He, however, had already qualified for the World Championships following his Lausanne-leg winning throw that breached the 85.20m qualifying mark.

The Diamond League encompasses 32 Diamond disciplines, following a championship style model. Athletes earn points at the 13-series meet to qualify for the final in their respective disciplines.

Chopra made a spectacular return from a one-month injury lay-off, winning the Lausanne-leg of the Diamond League series on August 26 and qualifying for the Finals.

He became the first Indian to clinch a Diamond League meet title in Lausanne with his third career-best throw of 89.08m.

He had missed the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (July 28 to August 8) due to a minor groin injury, suffered during his silver-winning performance in the World Championships in the United States in July.

The six-man field in Zurich was without World champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who is recovering from injuries after being assaulted inside a boat in his country last month.

With Thursday’s win, Chopra has beaten the 31-year-old Vadlejch for the fifth time since winning gold in Tokyo Games according to the reports published in rediff.com.

Vadlejch was sixth and fourth when Chopra finished second in the Paavo Nurmi Games (June 14) and Stockholm Diamond League (June 30).

While Chopra won silver in World Championships in Eugene, Vadlejch clinched bronze before the pair again clashed in Lausanne on August 26.

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