WATCH | Neeraj Chopra creates history, becomes first Indian to win Diamond League
Neeraj Chopra, the javelin throw winner from the Tokyo Olympics, won the Zurich Diamond League Final 2022 on Thursday in Switzerland, setting a new record for India. Chopra became the first Indian to win the Diamond League title with his second throw, which measured 88.44 metres.
In his first try of the evening at the Letzigrund Stadium, while playing in cloudy circumstances, Neeraj Chopra stepped over the line and was fouled. With 88.00m on his third try, the Indian javelin star quickly followed his previous two throws. In his fourth try, Neeraj Chopra achieved an 86.11 and in his fifth, an 87.00. His last throw was his lowest distance throw of 83.60m.
Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, who finished second in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, lost out to Neeraj Chopra for the championship of the 2016 Diamond League. Vadlejch finished second with his best effort standing at 86.94m, much short of his season's and personal best throw of 90.88m at Zurich.
German Julian Weber, the current European champion, finished third with a throw of 83.73m. He was followed by Curtis Thompson of the USA (82.40 metres), Patriks Gailums of Latvia (80.44 metres), and Leandro Ramos, the national champion of Portugal (71.96m).
Six finalists participated at the Grand Final in Zurich after earning their spots thereby competing in various Diamond League competitions this year.
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Leandro Ramos, a reserve athlete, took the place of world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada in the 2022 championship match because Peters was unable to recuperate from an incident that occurred off the field.
Having won the Lausanne Diamond League last month and placing second at the Stockholm Diamond League back in June, Neeraj Chopra qualified for his third Diamond League Grand Final. At the Stockholm competition, he threw the ball 89.94 metres further than his previous personal best.
#DLFinal Update
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 8, 2022
After 3 attempts @Neeraj_chopra1 maintains his lead in the men's javelin throw with the best throw of 88.44m which came in his 2nd attempt
Take a look 👇#ZurichDL#DiamondLeagueFinal
🎥 @Diamond_League @PMOIndia @ianuragthakur @NisithPramanik @afiindia pic.twitter.com/VPwSIFjRCU
Neeraj Chopra, one of eight finalists in the 2017 Diamond League Final, placed seventh with an 83.80m throw. The next year, with better technique, the Indian javelin thrower placed fourth with a throw of 85.73 metres.
The victory also put an end to Neeraj Chopra's productive 2022 campaign. This season, the 24-year-old Indian javelin star participated in six events and twice set new records. Neeraj Chopra made history in July by being the first Indian to take home a silver medal at the world athletics championships.
Despite having to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games 2022 owing to a groyne ailment, the Indian athlete celebrated his comeback by winning a Diamond League competition in Lausanne and later becoming the first Indian to take home a Diamond League trophy.