Indian Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Friday lost his top spot in the Doha Diamond League 2024 by the finest of margins when he finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch as two centimeters proved to be the difference-maker. Netizens took to social media to hail Neeraj as he put up a fantastic fight in the season-opener.
How it unfolded
Chopra got off to a slow start. Actually, he fouled on his first throw, but hit 84.93 meters on his second. This was a little out of the ordinary for a thrower who usually opens competitions with long throws. On his third try to get better, though, he hit an 86.24 meters. But Vadlejch also had improvement in mind, as evidenced by his 88.38 in round 3.
During the next two rounds, Chopra maintained his strong performance, scoring 86.18m and 82.28m, respectively, to maintain the second position going into the final round. Vadlejch fouled out on his last attempt, but Chopra drastically improved to score 88.38m in his 5th and final throw of the night. It was a crucial throw for Chopra as well, as Anderson Peters finished the competition with an 86.60m throw, which was 36 cm better than Chopra’s previous best.
The reaction
In spite of failing to defend his trophy, fans took to social media to express Neeraj Chopra’s grit and determination in the season’s first event. Some fans even claimed that Neeraj must be keeping his 90m throw for the Paris Olympics 2024. Here’s how the social media reacted.
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