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Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic champion in men’s javelin throw, won the Diamond League title with an 87.66m effort on June 30, Friday, at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise. After his impressive victory in Lausanne, Switzerland, the 25-year-old talked about competing directly at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary on August 25.
In his comeback event to the sport after sustaining a muscle injury last month, Neeraj Chopra went on to achieve his second consecutive Diamond League triumph. Just before this layoff, he had achieved the win at the Diamond League event in Doha, Qatar on May 6 of this year.
At Lausanne, during the men’s javelin throw competition in the Diamond League, the Indian superstar got a stiff challenge from two of his counterparts. The third position went to the Olympic silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, who threw the javelin at 86.13m, while the German Julian Weber hit 87.03 to secure second place on the ladder.
Shortly afterwards, Neeraj Chopra talked about his experience of competing professionally after the brief layoff. He said, “I was feeling a bit nervous coming back from an injury. It was a bit cold here tonight. I am still far from my best, but I feel it is getting better. I am relieved it’s coming together well for me. A win is a win and I will take that happily.”
“The next competition, Budapest, will be a big one for me,” the Olympic champion was quoted as saying after his win at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise.
Later on, the coach of the Khandra-born athlete, named Dr Klaus Bartonietz gave the confirmation about the plans of Neeraj Chopra to PTI. He said, “Yes, Chopra meant to say World Championships.”
