Neeraj Chopra chases 90m in Stockholm Diamond League
In a quality field, the Olympic champion will be the man to beat as he builds up for next month’s world championships in the US
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will step up his quest for a first 90m throw as he lines up in a quality field at the Stockholm Diamond League meet on Thursday. It will be his third and last competition since his comeback post Tokyo before next month's world championships in Eugene, Oregon. Chopra, who returned to training in the US, ended a 10-month wait to compete since his August victory in the Olympics. After a stint in Turku, he moved base to Finland ahead of the Paavo Nurmi Games. He is currently training in Uppsala, 70 km from Stockholm.
“We started training in December, it was a bit late. I had gained around 13-14kgs after the Olympics, so the plan was to get fit again,” he told a media interaction on Wednesday. “Our main target this year are the world championships and the Commonwealth Games.”
Chopra has warmed up for the big season nicely. He bettered his national record on comeback with 89.30m at the Paavo Nurmi Games to come second. Four days later in wet conditions in Kuortane, he won with an effort of 86.69m. Chopra tumbled while attempting the third throw and the top three finishers did not take their last three attempts due to the slippery run-up.
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In Stockholm, he will face the Czechs who finished behind him in Tokyo. Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch was sixth at the Paavo Nurmi meet (83.91m) while bronze medallist Vitezslav Vesely competed in Kuortane.
The 24-year-old will also look to upstage world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada for the third time this season. Peters has the world-leading throw this season (93.07m). The 2012 London Olympics champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, who was second in Kuortane (86.64m) and fourth in Turku (84.02m), as well as German star Johannes Vetter are not competing. Vetter, the serial 90m thrower, is nursing an injury and has competed only once this year.
Germany’s Julian Weber, fourth in Tokyo, has been very consistent this season. He has participated in six events in seven weeks, finishing among the top three five times. He threw a personal best (89.54m) three weeks back to finish second at the FBK Games in Netherlands behind Peters (90.75m). Of Chopra's seven rivals on Thursday, Peters and Vadlejch have crossed 90m.
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High stakes though seldom worry Chopra, who has repeatedly achieved a good throw early in competitions. Like in Tokyo, his best at Paavo Nurmi was his second attempt, and in Kuortane, the first try.
This will be Chopra's eighth Diamond League meet, the elite series in world athletics. His last competition was at Zurich in August, 2018, where he finished fourth with an effort of 85.73m. He is yet to win a medal in the Diamond League, finishing fourth twice.
