Lausanne, Aug 23: Neeraj Chopra nearly reached the elusive 90m mark for the first time in his career, finishing second at the Lausanne Diamond League with a remarkable throw of 89.49m. This effort not only marked a new season-best for Neeraj but also secured his spot in the Diamond League Final set to take place in Brussels this September.Neeraj’s performance was commendable, considering he has been managing a groin injury since the Paris Olympics, where he won a silver medal. While he initially considered addressing the injury post-Games, Neeraj has opted to complete the Diamond League season before making a decision about potential surgery.
Neeraj is the reigning two-time champion in Lausanne, and a win at this event would have given him a hat-trick of titles. He currently stands fourth in the overall Diamond League standings with seven points and needed a top-six finish on Thursday to secure his place in the final in Brussels on September 14.
Interestingly, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who prevented Neeraj from defending his Olympic gold in Paris, was absent from the Lausanne meet. However, the event featured top javelin throwers, including Paris bronze medallist Anderson Peters and Czechia’s Jakub Vadlejch, who leads the Diamond League standings and won the finals last year.
Neeraj made history in 2022 by becoming the first Indian to win a Diamond League final. He finished second last year behind Vadlejch and now aims to reclaim the title and conclude his season on a high. It remains to be seen how much Neeraj will push himself, given that this was not his last opportunity to qualify for the Diamond League Finals.