Neeraj Chopra finishes second in men's javelin at Diamond League 2023 Final

The world champion had won the title last year in Zurich.

Reigning World and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra secured the second position in the Diamond League 2023 Final with a best throw of 83.80m. Chopra, who won the Diamond League title in men's javelin competition in 2022, finished behind Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch who took home his third DL title with a best attempt of 84.24m throw.

Chopra, 25, started off by registering a foul in his initial attempt. However, he soon made amends. Chopra catapulted the javelin to a distance of 83.80m, propelling himself to the second position on the leaderboard, which was then led by Jakub Vadlejch with a best throw of 84.01m.

In the third attempt, Neeraj failed to improve upon his distance from the previous throw, as he achieved a result of 81.37 meters. Nevertheless, he maintained his second place, with Oliver Helander following closely with a throw of 83.74 meters.

During the fourth attempt, Neeraj committed a foul throw, leaving him with two remaining throws in order to surpass Jakub Vadlejch. However, despite a legal throw of 80.74m in his fifth attempt, it was insufficient to surpass the leader on the list.

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The conclusion arrived with the sixth and ultimate round. Despite the challenge of surpassing the bar in the final phase, the attention of all spectators was directed towards Neeraj. The defending Olympic gold medalist's final throw measured 80.90m and he fell short of retaining the title at the Diamond League 2023 Final.

Jakub Vadlejch concluded his final throw with a superior performance compared to his previous attempts, thus maintaining his position at the top with a remarkable distance of 84.24 meters. He had led the field throughout after a first attempt of 84.01m.

This is the Czech's third Diamond League title following wins in 2017 and 2018. For Vadlejch, thi was also a sweet revenge over Chopra having finished behind him at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest (Bronze) and Tokyo Olympics (silver).

Chopra, meanwhile, settled for second place in the Diamond League 2023 final after a historic gold medal win in the Worlds. He had made an impressive journey to reach the final, emerging victorious in two individual Diamond League meetings - in Doha on May 5 and in Lausanne on June 30.

Furthermore, Chopra, who holds a personal best of 84.94m, also secured a remarkable gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, surpassing his silver medal achievement from the previous year.

In addition, he secured second place at the Zurich meet on August 31st, with Vadlejch taking the top spot. Next up, the Indian will be seen on September 4 at the Hangzhou Asian Games which should ultimately be his final event this season.

Final Standings at Diamond League 2023 Final

1. Jakub Vadlejch - 84.24m

2. Neeraj Chopra - 83.80m

3. Oliver Helander - 83.74m

4. Andrian Mardare - 81.79m

5. Curtis Thompson - 77.01m

6. Anderson Peters - 74.71m