Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will face stiff competition from formidable challengers like Anderson Peters and Julian Weber when he attempts to regain the Diamond League (DL) Final title in Zurich, Switzerland on Thursday.
A two-time Olympic medallist, Chopra, who skipped the last leg of the prestigious series in Brussels, had won the Diamond League trophy in 2022 before finishing runner-up in 2023 and 2024.
Chopra qualified for this year’s DL Final in fourth place after competing in two of the four qualifying legs.
The 27-year-old reigning world champion breached the coveted 90m mark at the Doha leg in May with a throw of 90.23m but had to settle for second place behind Germany’s Weber. He then clinched the Paris leg in June with an effort of 88.16m.
Tough field
Along with Chopra, five other throwers — Andrian Mardare, defending champion Peters, Keshorn Walcott, Julian Weber and Julius Yego — made the cut. Swiss thrower Simon Wieland was also added to the field as the host nation’s entry.
Chopra’s last competitive outing was at the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru on July 5, where he recorded 86.18m to win the title at the event he hosted. Overall, he has competed in six events this season, winning four and finishing runner-up twice.
Chopra will also defend his world title at the World Championships in Tokyo from September 13 to 21.
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The Diamond League is an elite one-day meeting series in global athletics. The DL Final is a winner-takes-all competition, with champions crowned in each of the 32 events. Every winner receives the iconic Diamond Trophy and a wild card entry for the World Championships.
The men’s javelin final is scheduled for August 28, with the winner taking home USD 30,000, the runner-up USD 12,000 and the third-placed athlete USD 7,000. This year, however, enhanced prize money has been announced for winners of eight of the 32 events.
