Neeraj Chopra’s attempt to break the 90-metre mark fell unfulfilled, but the 24-year-old Indian javelin star came within six centimeters when he won the national for the second time in a month with an opening throw of 89.94 meters in the Stockholm Record broke Diamond League.
The Olympic champion finished second behind world champion Anderson Peters, but as well as the national record, Chopra will also be pleased with the result in Stockholm, as it was the first time he had finished in the top three in a Diamond League event. In his season opener at the Paavo Nurmi Games, Chopra had set his own record with 89.30 meters. Chopra’s 89.94 meters was also a competition record before Peters surpassed him in the third run with 90.31 meters.
It was a typical Chopra start at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm – smooth on the piste and an easy clearance, the big fall before the scratch line and then the hands raised after seeing the javelin land. Chopra was ahead of the eighth field for the first two laps. However, Peters, who has been going through an up-and-down phase, produced his third 90-yard throw of the season in the third run, which Chopra couldn’t do better.
“I thought I could throw 90m today, but slow progress is good!”@neeraj_chopra1 was happy about his Indian record #StockholmDL
🇮🇳 #DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/O3jJgmCJ2n
— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) June 30, 2022
Chopra’s throwing streak Thursday night proved he was on good form at the javelin throw at the World Championships in Oregon in just three weeks. After his national record throw, he scored 84.37, 87.46, 84.77, 86.67 and 86.84 meters.
Chopra now has three events under his belt before the Worlds. In Stockholm at his previous event – the Kuortane Games – he showed no signs of discomfort from slipping on the runway. In slippery conditions, Chopra had won gold at Kuortane with a throw of 86.69. He winced in pain after the slip but looked in good shape in Stockholm.
The German Julian Weber was third with a throw of 89.08 meters. The other two podium finishers at the Tokyo Olympics Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic and Vitezslav Vesely finished fourth and seventh.
Another of Chopra’s challengers, Finland’s Oliver Helander, who defeated him at the Paavo Nurmi games, had just one legal throw at 85.46 yards, after which he fouled the next two.
On the eve of his first Diamond League competition in almost four years, Chopra said the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Diamond League were his big goals. Chopra is currently fourth in the Diamond League race after earning seven points for his second place finish. He lined up Monaco and Lausanne ahead of the Zurich final in September.
The athlete with the most points at the end of the Diamond League cycle, held at 12 different venues – men’s javelin at four – and the final in Zurich will receive a diamond trophy and $40,000. But most importantly, the Diamond League Champion gets the right to be the most consistent athlete.
Chopra had competed in seven Diamond League events prior to Stockholm, but had eluded a top-three finish. He had qualified for the final twice and was 7th in 2017 (83.30m) and fourth a year later (85.87m).
On breaking the 90m mark ahead of his season opener in Turku, Chopra said, “I want to do my best. Overall, competition in the world is improving. But it all depends on the day. How the pitchers deal with the type of weather and conditions is important because it has an impact. My goal is also to reach it (90 meters) in one of the competitions. I will leave no stone unturned.”