Courtesy: X
Neeraj Chopra, the multi-time Olympic medallist from India, ended his 2024 season with yet another second place finish in a men’s javelin throw event, this time in the Diamond League final in Brussels on Saturday, September 14. At the King Baudouin Stadium, the 26-year-old’s best attempt registered at 87.86m, just 0.01m behind Anderson Peters of Grenada, who took the top step of the podium in the Diamond League final.
Just hours after the last men’s javelin throw event on Diamond League circuit in 2024, Neeraj Chopra revealed that he participated in the final in Brussels with a fractured fourth metacarpal in his left hand. The Indian athlete expressed that he couldn’t meet his own expectations in this season before stating that he learned a lot about himself in the past few months both on and off the track, vowing to return stronger in 2025.
Neeraj Chopra won silver medal at Paris Olympics 2024 behind Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan
The most memorable moment of the 2024 season for Neeraj Chopra came at the Paris Olympics in August, where he won the silver medal for India with a 89.45m throw, his only legitimate attempt in the final, to finish behind new champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan. After returning to competition in May 2024 following an eight-month muscle injury layoff, Neeraj Chopra competed in six events in the calendar year, winning the Federation Cup and Paavo Nurmi Games apart from finishing in second place in four other tournaments.
It was the recurring adductor issue which forced Neeraj Chopra to prioritise his health over competing at javelin throw events, due to which his appearance on the Diamond League circuit was quite limited in 2024. The recent fracture in the left hand will also take some time to heal for Neeraj Chopra, but he is expected to come back in the nick of time for the 2025 season, since his injury isn’t a serious one, and he participated in the Diamond League final in Brussels with it.
Neeraj Chopra came quite close on few occasions to breach 90m barrier in 2024 season
Notably, Neeraj Chopra has stated his intention of breaching the 90m barrier in men’s javelin throw in the last couple of seasons on a regular basis. He managed to register three of his top five throws beyond 89m in the 2024 season despite the injury issues at his disposal, which could serve as a catalyst for him to break new ground for himself in the 2025 season on the Diamond League circuit.
