Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Friday, 26th August scripted history as he became the first Indian to clinch a Diamond League Meeting title by winning the gold medal at Lausanne.
The 24-year-old golden boy Chopra, who had pulled out of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games due to a “minor” injury he had suffered while securing the silver during the World Championships last month, hurled the spear to 89.08m in his first attempt to seal the title in his style. Chopra rested and rehabilitated for a month or so but it looked like the injury had not ever happened at all as he continued his vintage and classy form. The first 89.08m throw was his third career-best effort. His second throw measured 85.18m before passing on his third attempt in the game. His fourth throw was a foul while he again passed his fifth attempt before coming up with 80.04m in the sixth one and last round. Only the top three after the fifth round receive the sixth throw.
Before this Panipat boy Neeraj, discus thrower Vikas Gowda was the only Indian to have finished in top-three in a Diamond League Meet. Gowda had finished second two times — in New York in 2012 and in Doha in 2014 — and third also on two occasions — Shanghai and Eugene in the year 2015.
Golden boy Chopra qualified for the Diamond League Finals in Zurich on September 7 and 8, and also became the first Indian to do the same. Despite the win, he remained on fourth spot with 15 points — with the addition of eight points on Friday, 26 August. Vadlejch remained on the top spot with 27 points, followed by Julian Weber with 19 points of Germany and world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada with 16 points. The top six after the Lausanne leg qualification for the Zurich Finals. Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch finished in second spot with a best throw of 85.88m while Curtis Thompson of USA finished in third position with a best effort of 83.72m.
Abinash Sable and Sreeshankar also participated in this Diamond League this year, so gradually our nation is reaching that level
and it will eventually help in better performances from India at the world level events. World level competitions like the Diamond League Meet or Continental Tour are really good opportunities for the athletes. Recently, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and 3000m steeple chaser Avinash Sable participated in the Diamond League events though they weren’t able to finish in top three. Sreeshankar had finished sixth in Monaco earlier this month while Sable ended fifth in Rabat, Morocco in June earlier this year.
Chopra said after his win that he would be very happy to see more Indian athletes taking part in these types of competitions and would be delighted to participate along with my fellow Indian athletes at a stage and platform like this.
