Neeraj Chopra falls agonisingly short of clinching his second Diamond League final in Brussels. With a throw of 87.86m in his third attempt, he came second and missed the top sport by 0.01 m, which is one centimetre. Despite battling an injury, Chopra’s effort was nearly enough to surpass Anderson Peters, who claimed victory with a throw just 0.01 m longer, i.e. 87.87 m. The night at Brussels was a dramatic showdown. Germany’s Julian Weber finished third with a best throw of 85.97m, which he achieved in his opening round.
The battle between Peters and Chopra
Peters, who threw an astounding 87.87m in his very first attempt, set the bar high. Neeraj, unfazed, responded with a solid 86.82m in his opening round, showing that he was ready for the challenge, followed by 83.49 m in the second round.
It was in his third attempt that he launched an impressive 87.86 m putting him in serious contention for the title. However, Peters, who had already thrown 87.87 m in the first round, held on to his lead throughout the competition. In his final attempt, Neeraj threw 86.46m, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Peters.
Neeraj Chopra’s performance in 2024
In his 2024 campaign, Neeraj Chopra has shown great consistency and determination. He kicked off the year with a solid performance at the Doha Diamond League in May, securing second place with a throw of 88.67m. At the Paris Olympic Games in August, Chopra threw 89.45m to win a silver medal in a fiercely competitive javelin contest, with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem clinching gold.
In June, at the Lausanne Diamond League, he delivered an impressive 89.49m throw in the final round, setting a new season-best and surpassing his Olympic mark. Heading into the Diamond League Final in Brussels in September, Chopra, who finished fourth in the javelin standings with 14 points, is eager to conclude his season with a strong performance and reclaim his 2022 title.
Only one Diamond League in the cabinet
Neeraj Chopra now has to settle with just one Diamond League title. The javelin thrower from Haryana won his first and only Diamond League in Weltklasse Zürich in 2022. Later, he also secured a second-place finish in the Diamond League once.
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