List of Indians to achieve top three finishes in Diamond League

Neeraj Chopra is the only Indian to clinch a Diamond League title

The Diamond League is an annual series of track and field events which comprises 14 meets held across every year (current season with 15 meets). Top athletes across the world compete to gain ranking points which will help them to qualify for the Diamond League Finals. The top eight athletes in each discipline qualify for the mega event.

Three Indians – Neeraj Chopra, Murali Sreeshankar, and Avinash Sable – in the current season have qualified for Diamond League finals scheduled to be held in Eugene from 16 -17 September, 2023.

Overall, only three Indians have finished in the top three at the Diamond League meets. In this article let’s have a look at those athletes:

Murali Sreeshankar (1)

The Most consistent Indian Long Jumper Murali Sreeshankar has finished in the top 3 of the Diamond League once. He finished third in the Paris Diamond League 2023 with a best attempt of 8.09m in a strong field which comprising of reigning Olympic Champion Miltiadis Tentouglou, World Championships bronze Medalist Simon Ehammer and Indoor World silver medalist Thobias Montler.

The former national record holder with the virtue of this result became the third Indian to finish in the top 3 of the Diamond League history and in the process this result helped him finish in top 8 and qualify for Diamond League finals.

In his third Diamond League appearance at Lausanne 2023, Sreeshankar finished fifth with a best jump of 7.88m and in the subsequent meet post the World Championships in Zurich, the Keralite once again finished 5th recording 7.99m.

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Vikas Gowda (4)

Vikas Gowda became the first Indian to finish in the top 3 at the Diamond League. The National Record holder in Dicuss Throw has finished in the top 3 four times. The Padma Shri awardee, finished on the podium for the first time at the New York Diamond League in 2012. The four-time Olympian then finished second at the Doha Diamond League in 2014 with a best throw of 63.23m.

The athlete from Karnataka was the only Indian athlete to perform consistently at the international competition in Discus throw. His best finish at the Olympics came in London 2012 when he finished a credible eighth position.

Neeraj Chopra (6)

The Golden Man of India, Neeraj Chopra, became the first Indian to win a Diamond League title in Lausanne last year with a best attempt of 89.08m. Before this meet, he finished second at the Stockholm Diamond League with a National Record throw of 89.94m falling just behind behind World Champion Anderson Peters (90.31m).

The Olympic Champion then went on to win the Diamond League Finals at Zurich with a best throw of 88.44m and thereby earned a wildcard entry for the World Championships 2023. The World Championships 2023 gold medalist also became the first ever Indian to win a Diamond League finals last year.

Neeraj started his 2023 season on a high note winning Doha Diamond League with a best attempt of 88.67m. After recovering from an injury, the 25-year-old won his fourth Diamond League trophy in Lausanne. He started slowly but then got back into the groove with a best throw of 87.66m in his fifth attempt overlapping Julian Weber and Olympic silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch to the top spot.

After clinching the World Championships title, Neeraj Chopra inside few days participated in the Zurich Diamond League and finished 2nd behind World Lead Jakub Vadlejch.