Neeraj Chopra secures win at Lausanne Diamond league, qualifies for Zurich finals

The 24 year old seems to have become an unstoppable force in javelin throw, achieving new heights everyday.

India's poster boy in athletics, Neeraj Chopra seems to be in the form of his life at the moment. The Javelin star won the Lausanne Diamond League on Friday. Chopra didn't seem to break much sweat as he hurled his javelin 89.08 meters in the first attempt itself. The victory not only ensured his qualification for the Zurich Diamond League finals, but also for the 2023 World Athletics Championship which will be held in Budapest.

Chopra qualifies for the six-man final next month

The 24-year-old qualified for next year's World Athletics Championship with the very first throw of the day. Neeraj's first throw was recorded at 89.08 m while the qualification mark was set at 85.20 m. Regarding the Zurich Diamond League finals which will be held on the 7th and 8th of September, Chopra holds his place at the fourth spot in the rankings with 15 points and has booked his place in the event.

Neeraj’s throw sequence on the day was 89.08m, 85.18m, 0, X, 0, 80.04m.

While Chopra occupied the top spot, Czech Republic's Jakub Valejch threw 85.88 m to hold on to the second spot while USA's Curtis Thompson recorded a throw of 83.72 for the third spot. Chopra, along with Valejch and Thompson will compete in the Diamond League finals, along with Julian Weber (Germany), Anderson Peters (Grenada), and Leandro Ramos (Portugal).

This event was Chopra's comeback after an injury layoff

Following the silver at the World Athletics Championships 2022, he sustained an injury to his groin. The Tokyo gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, was advised a month-long rest by the medical team as well as the Indian Olympics Association. Owing to this layoff, Neeraj (who won the gold medal in the 2018 edition) couldn't take part in the Commonwealth Games 2022, Birmingham.

Due to this, it was doubtful whether India's star athlete will be taking a part in the Diamond League 2022. However, much to the fan's relief, the athlete himself announced on social media that he would be taking part in the competition, his first since sustaining the injury.

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