How did Neeraj Chopra qualify for Diamond League Finals?
India’s athletics superstar and current world champion Neeraj Chopra secured his place in the Diamond League Finals 2024 in the men’s javelin throw event after finishing fourth in the overall rankings. In the updated standings after the Zurich Diamond League 2024, Neeraj Chopra finished with 14 points overall.
Anderson Peters topped the final standings with 29 points, while Julian Weber (21 points) and Jakub Vadljech (19 points) finished second and third, respectively.
Disappointingly, Paris Olympics 2024 gold medalist Arshad Nadeem finished in eighth place with just five points afterparticipating in just one Diamond League event.
Impressively, Neeraj Chopra secured his Diamond League Finals 2024 qualification despite taking part in only two of the four Diamond League events this year.
Despite not participating in the latest Zurich Diamond League meet, Neeraj had accumulated the requisite points in his second-placed finishes in both the Doha Diamond League in May and the Lausanne Diamond League in August.
Neeraj strategically opted to sit out of the Zurich meet, as his qualification to the finals was already secured. However, the Indian has been struggling with a set of niggling injuries since the turn of the year, hampering his performances in the previous Diamond League appearances as well as the Paris Olympics 2024.
The Diamond League Finals 2024 will be held in Brussels, Belgium, on September 13 and 14.
Who will Neeraj Chopra face in the Diamond League Finals?
Neeraj Chopra, India’s only track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, will face tough competition in the winner-takes-all Diamond League event.
Neeraj will go up against six international javelin throwers in the event, including heavyweights such as the Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medalist Anderson Peters of Grenada and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic.
Julian Weber (Germany), Andrian Mardare (Moldova), and Roderick Genki Dean (Japan) will also compete in the event.
The Diamond League Finals will be a chance for Neeraj Chopra to better his last year's performance when he finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch.