Javelin spectacle set to unfold in Paris Diamond League

Neeraj Chopra aims for victory at the Paris Diamond League, facing tough competition from elite javelin throwers, including Julian Weber and Anderson Peters.

New Delhi: When five of the eight javelin throwers in the field have personal bests beyond 90 meters, you can’t help but wait in anticipation for the high-octane action to unfold. The Paris Diamond League on Friday promises a javelin spectacle unseen in recent years.

Of the five 90m-plus javelin throwers competing in Paris, two-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion Neeraj Chopra and Germany’s Julian Weber stormed into the elite club only this season at the Doha leg of Diamond League. The two were involved in an exciting contest with Chopra first nailing his maiden 90m mark before Weber toppled him with his own personal best (91.06m).

A week later they met in Chorzow in Poland, where Chopra again finished second (84.14m) to Weber (86.12m). The season is fast turning out to be an exciting duel between the two latest entrants into the 90m club.

Though the two will be favourites in Paris, the rest of the field can no way be taken lightly. Not when the biggest throw belongs to two-time world champion and Paris bronze medallist Anderson Peters (93.07m). On his day, the Grenadian, with his fast arms, can seize the competition and make it all about himself. That’s what he did at the 2022 Eugene World Championships when he produced three 90m plus throws to simply leave his rivals in a daze.

Chopra, for one, is still in search of his first win of the season and will be keen to set the record straight in Paris. The weather conditions will be favourable to unfurl big throws. The other two 90m-plus throwers are Keshorn Walcott, the 2012 Olympic champion and Kenyan Julius Yego, the Rio Olympics silver medallist. The two top guns missing are Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch.

Nadeem began his season at the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea last month with a gold medal and a 86.40m throw.

The Paris meet will be the start of three back-to-back events for Chopra. He will compete in Golden Spike meet in Ostrava on June 24 followed by his own event — Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru on July 5. These three events will serve as a good preparation towards the World Championships that will be held in Tokyo this September.

With the burden of 90m lifted, Chopra can now compete with a free mind. A week after breaking the elusive 90-meter barrier in Doha, Chopra turned up at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial in Poland, where he struggled with his throws. His best throw of 84.14m came at the very end.

Chopra has indicated that he has made minor technical changes this season aimed at achieving distance. With legendary Jan Zelezny — the three-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder — as his coach, Chopra is looking for a strong showing at major championships, and going beyond 90m was most important in that respect.

It will give him the confidence to match the power of Nadeem and Peters, both of whom possess the ability to uncork 90m throws with relative ease. Chopra relies on his fine technique and flexibility to go the distance. Over the last three years, Chopra has shown incredible consistency in producing throws of 87m-89m. At the Paris Olympics, Nadeem took him by surprise with two massive 90m throws — the 92.97m heave fetched him the gold with an Olympic record. Chopra could muster 89.45m; good enough for a silver medal in Paris. A year later, Chopra is now returning to Paris knowing well that he is capable of such big throws.

Besides defending his World Championships title later this year, Chopra will be keen to get the Diamond League Trophy that he last won in 2022. There will be three more Diamond League legs for male javelin throwers — Silesia (Aug 16), Brussels (Aug 23) and the finale in Zurich (Aug 29). Weber currently leads the Diamond League race with eight points followed by Chopra (7) and reigning Diamond League champion Peters (6).

With Tokyo Worlds scheduled from Sept 13-21, the DL meets in August will be close for the star athletes to go all out. In that context, Paris will be important for Chopra to garner maximum points and take the lead.