Neeraj Chopra , on Friday, booked his place in the Diamond League Final in Brussels, keeping alive his hopes of ending the season with another major title in the men’s javelin throw. The Tokyo Olympic gold medallist will compete at the season-ending event on September 4 and 5, having accumulated enough qualification points across his two Diamond League appearances this season.
His points from Doha and Lausanne, however, were sufficient to keep him in contention for a place in the final. His fourth-place finish in Doha earned him five points, while his runner-up finish in Lausanne added another seven. The Brussels final gives Chopra another opportunity to add to his impressive Diamond League record. He has since finished runner-up three times and will now attempt to reclaim the crown.
Before the Lausanne Diamond League event, Neeraj had won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, recording a throw of 85.83m. Chopra accumulated 12 qualification points from his two Diamond League appearances. He won the Diamond League title in 2022, becoming the first Indian to claim the prestigious season-ending trophy. The Diamond League Final is the culmination of a 14-meeting series held between May and September.
Athletes collect points according to their finishing positions at the qualifying meetings, with eight points awarded for first place, followed by seven, six, five, four, three, two and one point for positions two through eight.
Chopra opened his Diamond League campaign in Doha on June 19, where he finished fourth with an effort of 85.69m. He then returned to action in Lausanne on August 21, producing a much stronger performance, sending the javelin 88.05m to finish second, behind Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage. The two-time Olympic medallist did not compete in the Zurich Diamond League meeting on August 27, even though the men’s javelin event was part of the programme.
That throw was Chopra’s best of the season and played a decisive role in his qualification for Brussels.
