India wakes up to “Neeraj Chopra Scripts yet another History”. India’s golden boy, Neeraj Chopra on August 26, became the first Indian to win the Lausanne Diamond League with a massive throw of 89.08 metres. With the win, he also qualified for the Diamond League final, in Zurich and the 2023 World Championships.
The 24-year-old javelin thrower was making a comeback after recovering from a groin injury he sustained at the World Athletics Championship where he won the silver medal. He had skipped the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and rested and rehabilitated for about a month.
Neeraj’s winning throw
Neeraj Chopra inched closer to the 90m mark as he opened with 89.08m which turned out to be the winning throw in the end. This was his third-best throw in his career so far. His second throw measured 85.18m before passing on his third and fifth attempt. His sixth throw landed at 80.04m in the event.
A delighted Neeraj expressed contentment with his result. “89m is a great performance. I am specially pleased as I am coming back from an injury and tonight was a good indicator that I have recovered well,” he said after the event.
The return to Lausanne Diamond League was Neeraj Chopra’s second appearance in Diamond League this season. Earlier, he won the silver medal at the Stockholm Diamond League with a personal best throw of 89.94m.
Diamond League Finals
The Tokyo gold medallist also qualified for the Diamond League final, that is set to take place in Zurich on September 7 and 8. The Lausanne stopover of the Diamond League was the deciding factor as only the top-six finalists make it to the big final and the Lausanne meet was the last chance for the men’s javelin thrower to qualify for the final.
Tokyo Olympics 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic currently leads the Diamond League points table with 20 points from three appearances followed by world No. 4 Julian Weber, who has 19 points.World champion Anderson Peters of Grenada with two first-place finishes has 16 points. Neeraj is currently 4th on the Diamond League standings with 15 points.
Neeraj also qualified for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary by breaching the 85.20m qualifying mark.
