India’s Neeraj Chopra will be defending his Olympic javelin gold in Paris in July.
Doha: Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra missed on the first place by the barest of margins as the Indian fell just 0.2m short of Jakub Vadlejch who threw his javelin at a distance of 88.38m on Friday. Chopra’s best throw in the competition came in his final attempt as he threw at a distance of 88.36m. Competing in his first competition in the Olympic year, Chopra’s first throw was ruled as a ‘No Throw’. However, he made a thunderous return in his second attempt to register 84.93m and shoot up to the second place.
The 26-year-old crossed 85m with his third attempt, sending his spear to a stunning 86.24m. Chopra’s fourth and fifth attempts were up his standards as the Indian registered 86.18m and 82.28m respectively before finding his rhythm in his final throw.
After missing out on his first attempt, #NeerajChopra comes roaring back with a 8️⃣6️⃣.2️⃣4️⃣m throw and climbs to the 2nd spot👏
#DiamondLeagueonJioCinema #DiamondLeagueonSports18 #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/4u272qKoRX
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 10, 2024
The 26-year-old Chopra trailed Czech Republic veteran Vadlejch — who won the title with his third round throw of 88.38m — all through the competition. Two-time world champion Anderson Peters took the third sport with a best throw of 86.62m.
Kishore Jena’s Diamond League debut ended in disappointment as he was eliminated after three rounds of throws, with 76.31m being his best. He began with a 75.72m, then fouled his second effort, before coming up with 76.31m to be at ninth after three throws each by all the 10 competitors.
The 28-year-old Jena has a personal best of 87.54m, a performance that fetched him a silver medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, but it was not his day on Friday. Vadlejch had won a silver in the Tokyo Olympics and a bronze in the 2023 World Championships, the two events in which Chopra had won gold.
Chopra had won the 2023 Doha Diamond League with a throw of 88.67m, ahead of Vadlejch (88.63) and Peters (85.88m). The next Diamond League meeting which has men’s javelin as a discipline will be in Paris on July 7.
At each Diamond League meeting, athletes are awarded 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 points for ranking first to to eighth respectively. The top six javelin throwers will compete in the Diamond League Finals in Brussels on September 13-14 and the winner will lift the Diamond League champion’s trophy.