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Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Diamond League final despite missing event in Zurich
Neeraj Chopra qualified for the Diamond League final on Friday. Here's all you need to know.
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Neeraj Chopra, on Friday, booked his place in the Diamond League Final in Brussels, keeping alive his hopes of ending the season with another major title in the men’s javelin throw. The Tokyo Olympic gold medallist will compete at the season-ending event on September 4 and 5, having accumulated enough qualification points across his two Diamond League appearances this season.
Chopra opened his Diamond League campaign in Doha on June 19, where he finished fourth with an effort of 85.69m. He then returned to action in Lausanne on August 21, producing a much stronger performance, sending the javelin 88.05m to finish second, behind Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage.
That throw was Chopra’s best of the season and played a decisive role in his qualification for Brussels. The two-time Olympic medallist did not compete in the Zurich Diamond League meeting on August 27, even though the men’s javelin event was part of the programme.
Deep Dive
His points from Doha and Lausanne, however, were sufficient to keep him in contention for a place in the final. Before the Lausanne Diamond League event, Neeraj had won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, recording a throw of 85.83m.
Who leads the charts?
Pathirage currently tops the javelin standings after producing a huge 92.07m effort to win the Zurich meeting on Friday. Anderson Peters, Keshorn Walcott and Curtis Thompson are also among the leading names heading into the final.
Chopra accumulated 12 qualification points from his two Diamond League appearances. His fourth-place finish in Doha earned him five points, while his runner-up finish in Lausanne added another seven.
The qualification battle also involved Kenya’s Julius Yego, who entered the Zurich meeting with nine points. Yego finished fifth in Zurich with a throw of 81.66m, taking his tally to 13 points.
The Brussels final gives Chopra another opportunity to add to his impressive Diamond League record. He won the Diamond League title in 2022, becoming the first Indian to claim the prestigious season-ending trophy. He has since finished runner-up three times and will now attempt to reclaim the crown.
The Diamond League Final is the culmination of a 14-meeting series held between May and September. Athletes collect points according to their finishing positions at the qualifying meetings, with eight points awarded for first place, followed by seven, six, five, four, three, two and one point for positions two through eight.
The Diamond League final will once again provide a showdown between Neeraj and Pathirage. The latter has the upper hand over the Indian star in 2026, having triumphed over him on three occasions, including the CWG.
