Neeraj Chopra Grabs Second Position in Zurich Diamond League Competition

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In New Delhi, Neeraj Chopra, who recently became the world champion, didn’t clinch the top spot in the Zurich Diamond League meet. He mentioned that he felt quite well physically but admitted to feeling a bit tired after competing in the World Championships in Budapest.

Neeraj Chopra Grabs Second Position in Zurich Diamond League competition

I’m currently feeling great because, after the World Championships, we’re all a bit worn out. In Budapest, we put in our utmost effort, but my primary goal for this competition was to maintain good health. Our attention must now shift towards the upcoming Eugene Diamond League finals on September 17, followed by the Asian Games in Hangzhou starting on September 23,” stated Neeraj Chopra.

He came in second place with a final throw of 85.71 meters in the men’s javelin competition at the Diamond League Meeting.

At the age of 25, Neeraj Chopra, the current Olympic champion, made three valid throws, reaching distances of 80.79 meters, 85.22 meters, and 85.71 meters. Unfortunately, his other three attempts were considered fouls.

He did really well and came in second place, just behind Jakub Vadlejch from the Czech Republic, who won the bronze medal in the World Championships with a throw of 85.86 meters.

The Indian superstar, who hadn’t lost a single match this season until Thursday, earned a spot in the Diamond League finals in Eugene, USA, with a total of 23 points from participating in three events. It’s worth noting that he clinched the Diamond League championship last year.

Neeraj Chopra secured his spot in the Diamond League finals by finishing in third place. He trailed behind Jakub Vadlejch, who had 29 points, and Julian Weber, who had 25 points. Neeraj Chopra’s third-place position was a result of his absence from the Monaco leg of the Diamond League due to injury, whereas Jakub and Weber competed in that event.

Neeraj Chopra triumphed at the Diamond League events in Doha on May 5 and Lausanne on June 30. These were his only two competitions before achieving a remarkable gold medal win at the World Championships in Budapest on Sunday, where he threw a remarkable 88.17 meters.

The Olympic gold medalist from Tokyo mentioned that he didn’t push himself too hard in Zurich so that he could give his absolute best in the upcoming competitions.

At the press conference before the event, Chopra mentioned that he felt some discomfort in his shoulder and back after securing gold at the World Championships. He wasn’t in perfect shape during the main event because he had suffered a groin injury while training in May and June.

For me, my main goal was simply to stay healthy and give my absolute best in my upcoming competitions. There are times when we have to listen to our bodies. Right now, I feel good, perfectly fine in fact, but I didn’t overexert myself.

At times, our top priority is to maintain good health. Today, I gave it my all, with a strong emphasis on staying healthy. I typically carry out my winter training in Europe because it’s more convenient for travel. That’s why I spent a few months in Loughborough, England, before heading to Budapest for competition this summer,” Chopra mentioned.

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Chopra started with a decent 80.79-meter throw, placing him second. However, he fouled the next two attempts, dropping to fifth halfway through. At that point, Germany’s Julian Weber was in the lead.

Chopra managed a remarkable 85.22 meters in his fourth attempt, which bumped him up to second place. At that point, Vadlejch had taken the lead.

Unfortunately, Chopra fouled his fifth throw once more, but he saved the best for last, achieving a distance of 85.71 meters in his final attempt of the day.

Chopra’s next goal is to secure the Diamond League champion’s trophy in Eugene on September 17, which he had won in the previous year.

This Diamond League final will be a winner-takes-all showdown, with no points carrying over from the individual Diamond League legs earlier this season. Prior to the finals, there are four individual Diamond League events, each offering varying prize money for participants.

Chopra received $6,000 for his work in Zurich, whereas the champion earned $12,000 in US dollars.

In field events, the top six competitors secure a spot in the finals.

At Eugene, the winner of the finals will take home $30,000, while the second and third-place finishers will receive $12,000 and $7,000, respectively.

In the men’s long jump, Murali Sreeshankar achieved a fifth-place finish here with an initial jump of 7.99 meters. He also qualified for the Diamond League finals, ranking third with 14 points.

Sreeshankar, who didn’t make it to the finals in the recent World Championships in Budapest, started strong in this competition. After the first round, he was in the lead. However, he couldn’t surpass his initial jump, and as a result, he gradually fell out of the top three positions.

By the end of the third round, he was holding onto the third spot, but in the fourth round, he slipped to fifth and stayed there until the competition’s conclusion.

The gold medal went to the Olympic and world champion, Miltiadis Tentoglou from Greece, who achieved a remarkable jump of 8.20 meters in the sixth and final round.

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