Neeraj Chopra has once again made India proud by bagging the second position in the Diamond League Final 204 in Brussels. He rose to the second spot in the first round itself with a throw of 86.82m while in the second round he managed to throw 83.49m. In the third round, the ace javelin thrower went till 87.86m in his third throw, but threw only 82.04m in his fourth attempt. IN the fifth round however, he maintained second position with 83.30m throw.
The last time Neeraj competed in the Diamond League Finals was in 2023, where he entered as the reigning champion, having won the title in 2022 with a throw of 88.44m. That year, however, Jakub Vadlejch emerged victorious, clinching the 2023 title with a final attempt throw of 84.24m. Neeraj, who had his best throw of 83.80m on his second attempt, finished in second place.
Chopra, currently ranked fourth in the standings with 14 points from his performances in Doha and Lausanne, faced stiff competition from the likes of Anderson Peters from Grenada, the points leader and Paris 2024 bronze medallist, as well as Germany’s Julian Weber and others. Having secured a silver medal in Paris to complement his historic gold from the Tokyo Games, Chopra was eager to cap off his season with a strong performance on Saturday.
At the end of each Diamond League season, the champion receives a ‘Diamond Trophy,’ a prize of $30,000, and an automatic entry for the World Athletics Championships. The runner-up is awarded $12,000.