Tokyo Olympics and newly crowned World Champion Neeraj Chopra had to be satisfied with a second place finish in the Wanda Diamond League event in Zurich on Thursday night. Neeraj Chopra ended his campaign just 15cm short of the top position with World Athletics Championships (WAC) 2023 bronze medallist Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch (85.86 m) finishing at the top.
Germany’s Julian Weber got the third position with the best throw of 85.04m. Neeraj Chopra, however, secured his qualification for the Wanda Diamond League Final which will be held in Hayward Field, Eugene in the United States on September 16 and 17.
The second place ended Neeraj Chopra’s undefeated season after he claimed top spot in the first two Diamond League events in Doha and Lausanne earlier this year. Neeraj Chopra skipped the Monaco Diamond League event due to injury but has still qualified for the final in third place with 23 points.
WATCH Neeraj Chopra’s 85.71m to finish in 2nd place in Zurich Diamond League…
Vadlejch and Julian Weber have also qualified for the Diamond League final in 1st and 2nd place with 29 and 25 points respectively. Apart from these three Anderson Peters of Grenada, Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad & Tobago and Oliver Helander of Finland have also qualified for the season finale.
“I feel very good now, because everyone is a little tired after the World Championships – we gave our 100 percent there, but for this competition here my focus was to just stay healthy, and we have to focus now for Eugene (Diamond League Final) and then the Asian Games,” Neeraj Chopra said on Thursday.
“For me, the focus was just to stay healthy and to give my 100 percent in my next competitions,” the newly crowned world champion added. “Sometimes we need to read our body. Today, I feel OK, I am 100 percent OK, but I did not push too much. Sometimes, our No. 1 goal is to stay healthy. Today I gave it my best, but still with the focus to stay healthy.”
Neeraj started the first attempt with a throw of 80.79 metre. Edis Matusevičius of Lithuania took the lead with a throw of 81.62 m. Edis ended the first round with a lead. In the second attempt, Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch threw a solid 83.46 m, dropping Edis and Neeraj one spot down each. Neeraj’s second attempt was a foul, keeping him at number three. Then, Germany’s Julian Weber struck a throw of 84.75 m. Neeraj as a result, dropped down to number 5. Weber ended the round two with a lead and Neeraj was at number five.
Neeraj’s third attempt also turned out to be a foul, keeping him at number five spot. Weber ended the round three with his lead intact. In the fourth attempt, Czech’s Jakub took the lead in the 10-man field with a throw of 85.86 m. Neeraj was still in the fifth spot. Neeraj’s fourth throw was a massive 85.22 m, which took him to the number two spot. Jakub finished round 4 with a lead, with Neeraj at second spot.
On the other hand, India’s Murali Sreeshankar finished at number fifth in the men’s long jump competition with the best jump of 7.99 m. Staying in contention for a podium spot for more than half of the event, Sreeshankar could not match his performance with others and dipped down the ranks in the second half of the tournament.
(with ANI inputs)