Neeraj Chopra to compete in Lausanne leg of Diamond League, say organisers

The reigning DL Champion has skipped few competitions due to injury.

Neeraj Chopra could be back on the field on June 30 for the sixth leg of the Wanda Diamond League 2023. The official website of the tournament has included the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist in the list of javelin throw competitors. However, the player is yet to confirm his participation. Although he could return to action before that if he participates in the Golden Spike Ostrava athletics meet in the Czech Republic on June 27.

Neeraj Chopra has already given two competitions a miss after he suffered a muscle strain during his training session before the FBK Games in Finland earlier this month. The 25-year-old had announced on Twitter that he will not be participating in the tournaments as a precautionary measure. The only tournament Neeraj Chopra participated in, was the first leg of the Wanda Diamond League in Doha, he finished first with a throw beyond the 88m mark (88.67m to be precise).

While Neeraj is yet to comment on his participation, the official website of the Wanda Diamond League 2023 says that the player will play to defend his title against the likes of Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic and Julian Weber of Germany.

"In the javelin, the Indian Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will be challenged by the Czech Jakub Vadlejch and German Julian Weber," the website has stated.

As aforementioned, Neeraj Chopra has already given two competitions, he was scheduled to play, miss due to his injury - the FBK Games in the Netherlands on June 4 and the Paavo Nurmi Games on June 13 in Finland. He also asked to be exempted from competing in the National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships 2023, Bhubaneshwar because of his injury.

Neeraj Chopra had the World Lead throw because of his 88.67m long effort in Doha. However, the Indian lost the lead to the Czech Republic Javelin Throw athlete Jakub Vadlejch, who became the first person to breach the 89m mark in 2023. On his second attempt, Jakub Vadlejch went as long as 89.51m to snatch the World Lead from the Indian at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku.

Chopra is also scheduled to compete at the Golden Spike Ostrava in the Czech Republic on June 27. However, his participation there is also yet to be confirmed.