Neeraj Chopra is set to return to action in the Doha Diamond League, which will take place on 10 May. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Gold winner won the meet last year with a stellar 88.67m throw. He bested the likes of Jakub Vadlejch and Anderson Peters, who had throws of 88.63m and 85.88m respectively. Chopra is well aware of the competition that these two throwers bring and will be gunning to better them again.
The Doha Diamond League will be the start of his season as he plans on competing in a few more competitions in preparation for the Paris Olympics. He has been abroad training for the current season and will be looking to breach the prestigious 90-metre mark in the coming competitions. A familiar lineup awaits Neeraj Chopra in the Doha Diamond meet. Alongside Vadlejch and Peter, the field will also include throwers like Julian Webber and his Indian counterpart Kishore Jena.
Neeraj Chopra lifted the Diamond League Champions Trophy in 2022. He missed out on repeating his brilliance in 2023 as he lost out to Vadlejch in 2023. The Czech thrower has a stellar record in the Doha meet. He threw a personal best of 90.88 metres in the competition in 2022. Currently World Number 2, he has been bested by Neeraj Chopra several times, including the Tokyo Olympics and the World Championships. Vadlejch will be looking to topple Chopra this time and clinch the gold medal once again at Doha.
Neeraj Chopra set to return to India
Neeraj Chopra will make his return to the Indian domestic circuit for the first time since 2021. He will participate in the National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships to be held in Bhubaneswar from May 12 to 15. The 26-year-old last participated in the same competition in 2021 and clinched gold with an 87.80-metre throw.
Kishore Jena will also be at the competition and try his best to outperform the Indian Javelin Thrower. Jena’s best throw of 87.54 metres, helped him clinch the silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games. Neeraj Chopra heaped praise on his progress and stated that the thrower from Odisha could breach the 90-metre mark before him.
Post the domestic competition, Neeraj Chopra will also participate in another major event. He will be among the many talented throwers at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland.
