“Second position and Neeraj Chopra is continuing" – Netizens react as Indian javelin thrower fails to win Diamond League Final by 1cm
India’s star athlete Neeraj Chopra finished second in the men’s javelin throw event at the Diamond League Final 2024 in Brussels, Belgium on Saturday (September 14).
The two-time Olympic medalist finished the event with a best throw of 87.86m, falling just one cm behind the winner, Grenada’s Anderson Peters (87.87m).
Fans took to social media to react to Neeraj's narrow loss, which culminated in yet another second-place finish for the Indian javelin thrower. One fan took to the social media platform X to write:
“For some reason, the second position and Neeraj Chopra is continuing.”
Neeraj had earlier finished in second place in the Paris Olympics 2024, falling behind Arshad Nadeem’s Olympic record-breaking throw of 92.97m. He had also finished second in the Lausanne Diamond League in August despite registering a season-best throw of 89.49m.
Another Indian fan agreed with the sentiment of bad fortune affecting Indian sportspersons, writing:
“So many close, heartbreaking finishes for India this year! Except cricket, where we finally won a trophy after 11 years, nothing else has worked for Indian sports in 2024… 💔”
One person was quick to point out that Neeraj has been struggling with a niggling groin injury since the turn of the year, for which he was expected to get surgery after the end of the Paris Olympics 2024.
“This looks like he is giving his 50 percent only he can clearly hit 95 when fully fit,” the fan wrote.
One disheartened fan, however, was more pessimistic in his analysis of Neeraj’s performance on Saturday, writing:
“Say whatever you want, but I think Neeraj Chopra doesn't have what it takes to surpass 90m plus throw.”
How did Neeraj Chopra perform at the Diamond League Final 2024?
After the withdrawal of last year’s winner Jakub Vadlejch, Neeraj Chopra was in a prime position to win his second Diamond League Final title since 2022.
The Indian athlete started the event with a throw of 86.82, which put him in second place behind Anderson Peters. His second throw was only 83.49m, which was relatively poor compared to the lofty standards that he has set over the years.
Neeraj improved upon this performance in his next efforts, registering a distance of 87.86m, but still could not overtake Peters’ first attempt of 87.87m.
Neeraj Chopra then followed it up with a disappointing couple of efforts, registering distances of 82.04m and 83.30m.
In the final and all-important sixth effort, Neeraj could not overcome the challenge posed by Peters, registering a throw of 86.46m and settling for a back-to-back second-place finish at the Diamond League Final.