A file picture of Neeraj Chopra.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Reigning Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will begin his season within the Doha leg of the distinguished Diamond League sequence on May 10 in a star-studded area.
The 26-year-old Chopra, who closed his previous season with a gold on the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China final yr, is aiming to defend his Olympic gold in Paris later this yr.
Chopra’s compatriot Kishore Jena, who completed fifth within the 2023 Budapest World Championships and received silver in Hangzhou with a private better of 87.54m, shall be making his Diamond League debut on the Qatar capital.
Chopra shall be up in opposition to his well-known rivals like Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who received silver in Tokyo Olympics and bronze in 2023 World Championships and former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada.
“This year, my personal goal is to defend my Olympic title, but it would also mean a lot to me to break the 90m barrier. The Doha Meeting, with good conditions and a great atmosphere, is a perfect opportunity to get my season off to the best start,” Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m, said.
“I’m always overwhelmed by the warm support I get from Indians across the world and in Qatar that is particularly special. I feel privileged that so many people come out to support me and I hope I can repay their faith in me with a good performance.” Others to take the sector on the Qatar Sports Club embody European champion Julian Weber of Germany (PB 89.54m), Oliver Helander of Germany (PB 89.83m), Qatari document holder Ahmed Bader Magour (PB 85.23m), Lithuanian document holder and World University Games champion Edis Matusevicius (PB 89.17m) and Asian Games bronze medallist Roderick Genki Dean of Japan (PB 84.28m).
Chopra had taken the highest spot right here within the 2023 season with a throw of 88.67m, forward of Vadlejch and Peters.
The javelin occasion has constructed a status for its prime quality lately and circumstances allowing, a lot shall be anticipated of the important thing protagonists on May 10.
Peters, who completed third 12 months in the past, delivered a nationwide document and the fifth-longest throw in historical past in 2022 (93.07m), whereas reigning Diamond League champion Vadlejch, who was runner-up to Chopra in 2023, recorded a private finest within the memorable 2022 assembly with his first ever throw over 90m (90.88m).
Chopra’s continued excellence has raised the bar for Indian athletes.
“Last year my dream was to win the World Championships, but to have three Indian athletes competing in the final – that shows we’re progressing as a nation,” he mentioned.
The Doha Meeting is the third assembly of the 2024 Diamond League sequence which contains 15 legs in whole throughout 4 completely different continents, beginning with Xiamen on April 20 and concluding with a single closing throughout two days in Brussels (September 13-14).
The first two conferences in Xiamen and Shanghai shouldn’t have males’s javelin throw as Diamond League occasion.
