Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra scripted history as he became the first Indian to clinch a Diamond League Meeting title by winning the Lausanne leg on Friday (August 26).
The 24-year-old Chopra, had clinched silver at the World Championships last month. After that, he missed the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a “minor” groin injury. However, the young boy from Haryana now speared 89.08m in his first attempt to seal the Diamond League Title in style.
ALSO READ: Neeraj Chopra Scripts History, Becomes First Indian to Win Diamond League Title
Chopra then rested and rehabilitated for a month but it looked like the injury did not happen at all as he stepped with sheer prowess at Diamond League. The 89.08m throw was his third career-best effort. His second throw measured 85.18m before passing on his third attempt.
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His fourth throw was a foul while he again passed his fifth attempt before coming up with 80.04m in the sixth and last round.
Here’s a look at the magnificent throw of 89.08m by Chopra:
HE’S DONE IT!????????
IIS athlete #NeerajChopra becomes the FIRST EVER Indian to win at the Diamond League, finishing top of the pile at the #LausanneDL with a MASSIVE throw of 89.08m in his very first attempt⚡️
He qualifies for the Diamond League final, in Zurich. #CraftingVictories pic.twitter.com/zbxbqrlWnD
— Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) August 26, 2022
After the event, Chopra said, “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.”
“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.”
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch finished second with a best throw of 85.88m while USA’s Curtis Thompson bagged third spot with a best effort of 83.72m.
Chopra became the first Indian to qualify for the Diamond League Finals in Zurich on September 7 and 8. Despite the win, he remained on fourth spot with 15 points — with the addition of eight points on Friday. The top six after the Lausanne leg qualify for Zurich Finals.
Vadlejch remained on top spot with 27 points, followed by Germany’s Julian Weber (19 points) and world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada (16 points). Weber and Peters did not take part in Lausanne. Peters is recovering from an injury he suffered earlier this month when he was assaulted inside a boat in his country.
Thompson and Latvia’s Patriks Gailums have also qualified for Zurich Finals.
By breaching the 85.20m qualifying mark, Chopra also registered the name for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
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