This season’s DL finals shall be held in Brussels on September 14, 2024. Neeraj Chopra wants to complete within the prime six of the Diamond League conferences collection standings to qualify for the season finale.
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Two weeks after profitable his historic silver medal on the Paris Olympics, star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will resume motion on the Lausanne Diamond League assembly on Thursday (August 22, 2024), in search of to reclaim the DL trophy on the season-ending finale subsequent month.
Nursing a long-standing groin damage, Chopra claimed a silver within the Paris Olympics on August 8 with an 89.45m throw, having gained a historic gold within the Tokyo version of the Video games three years in the past.
The 26-year-old double Olympic medallist Indian confirmed his participation on Saturday (August 17, 2024) on the Diamond League assembly in Lausanne, leaving a call on attainable surgical procedure after the tip of the season.
Chopra was the Diamond League champion in 2022 and completed second behind Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic within the winner-take-all DL closing in Eugene, USA, final yr.
This season’s DL finals shall be held in Brussels on September 14, 2024. He wants to complete within the prime six of the Diamond League conferences collection standings to qualify for the season finale. There’s one other DL assembly — in Zurich on September 5 — which has a males’s javelin throw occasion on its roster.
He’s at the moment within the fourth spot with the seven factors he has garnered after ending second behind Vadlejch within the Doha Diamond League on Could 10.
After a busy couple of days after the Olympic closing on August 8, Chopra began coaching in Switzerland and is set to complete the season on a excessive regardless of being restricted by the damage.
“I got here to Switzerland for coaching forward of the Diamond League. Fortunately, I didn’t worsen my damage, as I took additional care of that. I considered persevering with my season like most different athletes. There’s one month to go till the season ends. I’ll go to the docs in my free time,” he had stated final week.
Chopra shall be up in opposition to a top-class subject in Lausanne, with 5 of the top-six finishers within the Paris Olympics closing competing. Solely Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who shocked the athletics world by profitable the gold with an Olympic file throw of 92.97 m, is lacking.
Watch: Arshad Nadeem wins gold; Neeraj Chopra will get silver in Paris
Nadeem had completed fourth within the Paris Diamond League on July 7 with a throw of 84.21 m. That was the one DL assembly — in addition to the lone occasion other than the Olympics — he had taken half this season. He’s at the moment in sixth spot within the standings with 5 factors.
Having pushed to the fourth spot with a throw of 88.50 m in Paris after profitable a silver in Tokyo, Vadlejch could be seeking to preserve his kind in his bid to defend the DL title.
Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who took the bronze within the Paris Olympics with 88.54m, has been on the ascendancy after a poor final season, and he’s able to pulling off large throws, having already gone previous the 90m mark in his profession.
Chopra has been probably the most constant javelin thrower within the final couple of seasons, earlier than Nadeem pulled off the heist in Paris, and the Indian will begin as the favourite in Lausanne on Thursday (August 22, 2024).
Additionally Learn: Arshad Nadeem: A story of quiet resolve behind monster 90m throws
He has been managing his groin damage since profitable gold within the Budapest World Championships final yr.
“The ultimate therapy shall be after the season ends. I’ll attempt to care for it as a lot as attainable and seek the advice of the docs later,” he stated.