Finance
Olympic javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra made history on Friday by becoming the first Indian to win a Diamond League Meeting title by winning the Lausanne leg here.
The 24-year-old Chopra, who had withdrawn from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games due to a “minor” groin injury sustained while winning silver at the World Championships last month, threw the spear to 89.08m in his first attempt to seal the victory in style.
Chopra rested and rehabilitated for a month, but it appeared as if the injury had never occurred, as he maintained his vintage form. His 89.08m throw was his third best effort of his career. His second throw measured 85.18m before he failed on his third try.
His fourth throw was a foul, and he failed his fifth attempt before finishing with 80.04m in the sixth and final round. Only the top three finishers after the fifth round receive the sixth throw.
The youngster from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana became the country’s first Diamond League champion.
Before Chopra, the only Indian to finish in the top three at a Diamond League Meet was discus thrower Vikas Gowda. Gowda had previously finished second in New York in 2012 and Doha in 2014, as well as third in Shanghai and Eugene in 2015.
“I am delighted with my result tonight. 89m is a great performance. I am specially pleased as I am coming back from an injury and tonight was a good indicator that I have recovered well,” Chopra said after the event.
becomes 1st Indian to win a #DiamondLeague Meet & claim the top spot at #LausanneDL with the best throw of 89.08m That’s our Star Neeraj for you!! Well done
“I had to skip Commonwealth Games due to injury and I was a bit nervous. Tonight has given me a lot of confidence to finish the season on a high, with a strong performance in Zurich DL Final.”
Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic finished second with a best throw of 85.88m, while Curtis Thompson of the United States finished third with a best throw of 83.72m.
Chopra became the first Indian to qualify for the Diamond League Finals in Zurich on September 7 and 8. Despite the victory, he remained in fourth place with 15 points after adding eight points on Friday. The top six finishers from the Lausanne leg advance to the Zurich Finals.
Vadlejch maintained his lead with 27 points, followed by Julian Weber (19 points) of Germany and Grenada’s world champion Anderson Peters (16 points). Weber and Peters did not attend Lausanne. Peters is recovering from an injury sustained earlier this month while aboard a boat in his home country.
Thompson and Latvia’s Patriks Gailums qualified for the Zurich Finals as well.
Chopra has also qualified for the World Championships in 2023 in Budapest, Hungary by breaching the 85.20m qualifying mark.
