Chopra throws closer to Diamond League final spot, happy with his performance

Reigning World Javelin throw champion and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist, Neeraj Chopra of India is close to sealing his place in the Wanda Diamond League final after finishing second in Lausanne Thursday night.

The 26-year-old former Olympic champion garnered seven points from his second-place finish to move to third in the standing with just one qualifying meeting remaining.

The 2021 Olympic champion has 14 points, two behind Czech Republic’s Vadlejch Jakub who came second in Lausanne and seven behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters who threw 90.61m meeting record and personal season’s best to win on Thursday night.

Chopra will seal his spot in Zurich on September 5 if he finishes among the first three as only six athletes will qualify for the final where one of the prizes to be won will be a wild card to compete in Tokyo at the 20th World Athletics Championships where he will be looking to defend his title.

Meanwhile, the Indian says he is happy with his performance despite coming up short once again like he did at the Paris Olympics where he failed to successfully defend his title.

He threw 89.49m, a personal season’s best to finish second in Lausanne.

‘The feeling wasn’t great at first, but I’m happy with my throw, especially the second-best throw on my last attempt. It was a tough start, but the comeback was really nice and I enjoyed the fighting spirit I showed.

‘Even though my early throws were around 80-83 meters, I pushed hard in the last two attempts finishing strong. Competing at this high level, it’s important to stay mentally tough and fight through,’ he said.

Chopra will be hoping he can return to the Diamond League final to reclaim the title he lost last year to Vadlejch after winning it for the first time in 2022.