Neeraj Chopra: Diamond League Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Zurich Diamond League, Sreeshankar fifth in the long jump

Posted on 1st Sep 2023 by rohit kumar

India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Zurich Diamond League. He qualified for the Diamond League finals by finishing second with a best attempt of 85.71m. The final will be held on September 17 in Eugene, USA. Neeraj, who won gold in the World Championships, missed the first place by just a few centimeters. World Championship bronze medalist Jakub Wadlech of the Czech Republic finished first with a best effort of 85.86m. Neeraj remained 15 centimeters behind him. Meanwhile, India's Murali Sreeshankar finished fifth in the long jump event of the Zurich Diamond League.

 

Neeraj's three attempts were fouls

Just four days after becoming the world champion, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was challenged to continue his winning streak this season. This season, Neeraj has won only gold in three competitions. Neeraj became world champion for the first time with a throw of 88.17m in Budapest on Sunday. However, in Zurich, he could not manage to place in the first place. Out of Neeraj's six attempts, three were fouls. His attempts were as follows – 80.79m, foul, foul, 85.22m, foul and 85.71m.

 

Neeraj's first attempt: throw of 80.79 meters

In the first round, Neeraj threw a javelin of 80.79 meters and he is currently in second place. Adis Matusevičius of Lithuania had a throw of 81.62m in the first round and is in first place. Neeraj was second and Anderson Peters of Grenada was third with a throw of 78.78m.

 

Neeraj's second attempt: a foul

Neeraj's throw in the second round was declared a foul. Germany's Julian Weber came out on top with a throw of 84.75m. At the same time, Jakub Wadlech of the Czech Republic came second with a throw of 83.46m, and Oliver Helander of Finland came third with a throw of 81.63m. Lithuania's Matusevicius had a throw of 81.18m in the second round. Whereas, Neeraj remained at fifth position.

 

Neeraj's third attempt: foul

After the second, Neeraj's throw in the third attempt was also declared a foul. He remains in fifth position. Julian Weber made a throw of 79.04 meters in the third round. Whereas, Jakub Wadlech threw 80.04 meters. Oliver Helander's throw was a foul. At the same time, Addis, who was in fourth place, made a throw of 80.12 meters.

 

Neeraj's fourth attempt: throw of 85.22 meters

In the fourth round, Neeraj Chopra made a throw of 85.22 meters. He has come straight to second place. At the same time, Jakub Wadlech threw 85.86 meters on the fourth attempt and went ahead of Neeraj. He is in first place. Julian Weber threw 85.04 meters in the fourth attempt and is in third place.

 

Neeraj's fifth attempt: foul

Neeraj fouled in the fifth round also. He currently stands in second position with a best attempt of 85.22 meters. At the same time, Jakub Vadlech of the Czech Republic also fouled on the fifth attempt. However, he is in first place with a best attempt of 85.86 meters. Germany's Julian Weber made a throw of 82.01 meters on the fifth attempt. He is in third place with a best attempt of 85.04 meters.

 

Neeraj's sixth attempt: 85.71m throw

In the sixth round, Neeraj made a throw of 85.71 meters, but could not surpass Wadlech's attempt of 85.86 meters. Wadlech's attempt in the sixth round was a foul. Whereas, Julian Weber threw 84.92 meters. In the sixth round, there is a competition between the best of the three.

 

Neeraj has played four competitions this season

Neeraj has played only four competitions this season. Apart from the World Championship, these include Doha, Lausanne, and now the Zurich Diamond League leg. Apart from the World Championship, Neeraj had won gold in the Doha and Lausanne Diamond League. In the Doha Diamond League, he threw the javelin at a distance of 88.67 meters, while in the Lausanne Diamond League, he won with 87.66 meters.

 

Diamond League final from 16 September

The Zurich leg is followed by the Diamond League final in Eugene (USA) on 16 and 17 September. Neeraj won the Diamond Leg final in Zurich last year. Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, who won the silver medal in Budapest, was not playing in this competition. Javelin throwers, who finished the first six in the league, will play the final in Eugene. In such a situation, Neeraj has also qualified for the finals.

 

He finished third in the Diamond League with 23 points after three competitions. Wadlech finished first and Germany's Julian Weber came second. Neeraj had missed the Monaco leg of the Diamond League. For this reason, its marks were not added to Neeraj's marks, while Wadlech and Weber took part in all four Diamond League competitions.

 

Neeraj had created a history

India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra created history on 27th August. He became the first Indian athlete to win gold at the World Athletics Championships. Neeraj had targeted the gold medal in the javelin throw event with a throw of 88.17 meters at the National Athletics Center in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. He became only the third javelin thrower after the Olympic gold to win a gold medal at the World Championships. Before him, only former javelin thrower Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic and Andreas Thorkilden of Norway had done so.

 

Sreeshankar finished fifth in the long jump

Murali jumped 7.99 meters in the first round, his second attempt was 7.96 meters. He fouled on the third attempt. Sreeshankar jumped 7.96 meters on the fourth attempt, while on the fifth attempt, he jumped 7.93 meters. He did not get a chance in the sixth round, because in the sixth round, there is a best-of-three match. In such a situation, Sreeshankar finished fifth and could not qualify for the finals of the Diamond League to be held in Eugene (America) on 16-17 September.

 

Olympic champion Miltiadis Tantoglu of Greece won the long jump gold medal at the Zurich Diamond League. He jumped a world record of 8.20 meters. At the same time, Jamaica's Tejay Gayle finished second with a best attempt of 8.07m and won the silver medal. USA's Jarian Lawson won the bronze medal with a best effort of 8.05m. Sreeshankar did not fare well in the World Championships with a throw of 7.74m and finished 22nd.

 

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