Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic champion, finished in the top three in the renowned diamond league competition on Thursday but just missed the 90-meter threshold in front of a crowded field. The 89.94-meter javelin throw by 24-year-old Neeraj Chopra, which was only 6 cm short of the 90-meter mark, which is the industry standard, proved to be his greatest throw.
Neeraj Chopra’s other throws had lengths of 84.37 m, 87.46 m, 84.77 m, 86.67 m, and 86.84 m. At the Paavo Nurmi Games on June 14 in Turku, Finland, he broke his previous national record with a spear distance of 89.30m. Grenada’s Anderson Peters, the reigning world champion and leader of the season, won the event with a third-attempt best throw of 90.31 meters.
In winning the Diamond League leg in Doha last month, Neeraj Chopra threw 93.07 meters, followed by a 90.75 meters toss in Hengelo, the Netherlands, this season. With a fifth-round throw of 89.08 meters, German competitor Julian Weber came in third. Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo Jakub Vadlejch (88.59) came in fourth. Vitezslav Vesely, a third Czech athlete and bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, finished seventh in the eight-man competition with 82.57m.
Neeraj Chopra secures second place in Stockholm Diamond League; misses 90-meter threshold
In Turku, where the Grenadan athlete finished third, and in the Kuortane Games, also in Finland, where the Indian superstar won gold with a best throw of 86.69m in slick and rainy circumstances, Chopra defeated Peters both times this month.
With his opening throw, Chopra gave fans optimism that he would make history by being the first Indian to triumph in a Diamond League competition. Nevertheless, he followed discus thrower Vikas Gowda as the second Indian to place in the top three of a Diamond League tournament.
The next Diamond League competition featuring javelin throw is scheduled for August 10 in Monaco. As it will take place just a few days after the Birmingham CWG, where he will be defending his championship, it is unclear if Chopra will participate.
