Neeraj Chopra starts season with win in Doha Diamond League

He also smashed the World Lead and set the mark.

Tokyo Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra started the 2023 season on a great note by winning the Doha Diamond League 2023 with a best throw of 88.67m. India’s golden man started with a World Leading throw of 88.67m (replacing Jakub Vadlejch’s 88.38m) which helped him clinch the top spot and bag eight qualification points. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch finished second spearing 88.63m (4cm short of the top spot) and took home seven qualification points. World Champion Anderson Peters finished a credible third with 85.88m.

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Chopra, 25, did not waste time and speared the Javelin to WL on the first attempt. He is known for delivering his best performance at the start of the event and this time too, he delivered his best at the start. The Haryana athlete produced 86.04m and 85.47m in the next two attempts and remained in the top spot at the halfway stage.

At the halfway mark, only the top eight athletes are allowed to compete (Oliver Helander and Olympic medallist Julius Yego were eliminated with NM). Neeraj Chopra subsequently couldn't improve on his previous performance (foul in the fourth attempt and 84.37m in the fifth) but remained in the top spot. After the end of five rounds, only the top three athletes are allowed to remain and are given one attempt each. Chopra in the last throw looked confident in the follow-through but could only register 86.52m.

According to the commentators, the conditions in Doha were windy throughout the evening and it was difficult for players to register big throws. India’s poster boy, Neeraj Chopra will next be in action in the Diamond League on June 30 in Lausanne (subject to confirmation) as the next few Diamond Leagues do not have men’s Javelin Throw scheduled.

Fellow Indian and Triple Jumper Eldhose Paul finished tenth with a best-effort jump of 15.84m on his Diamond League debut. The reigning Commonwealth Games champion Paul clinched the second last spot in a field of 11 competitors (the last competitor did not register a mark).

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Final Result List

1. Neeraj Chopra - 88.67m  (8 points)

2. Jakub Vadlejch - 88.63m  (7 points)

3. Anderson Peters - 85.88m  (6 points)

4. Julian Weber - 82.62m  (5 points)

5. Andrian Mardare - 81.67m  (4 points)

6. Keshorn Walcott - 81.27m  (3 points)

7. Dean Roderick Genkie - 79.44m  (2 points)

8. Curtis Thompson - 74.13m  (1 point)

Oliver Helander and Julius Yego - NM