Diamond League 2024: How did Neeraj Chopra qualify for the men’s javelin throw Final?
Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will be in action during the men’s javelin throw event in the Diamond League 2024 Final at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on Saturday.
FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE | Neeraj Chopra LIVE updates, Diamond League 2024 Final
Neeraj secured a spot in the final after getting 14 points and finishing fourth out of seven competitors in the overall standings. The 26-year-old finished two points behind last year’s winner, Czechia’s Jakub Vadlejch. Grenada’s Anderson Peters and German star Julian Weber hold the top two positions with 29 and 21 points, respectively.
He got his first points of the season after coming second in the Doha leg of the Diamond League. During the meet, Neeraj was in the unfamiliar position of playing catch up as Vadlejch set the mark early on and managed to stay ahead all through, finishing on top with a best throw of 88.38m to push himself into second spot, just two centimetres behind with 88.36m.
Neeraj qualified for the final after finishing second yet again, in the Lausanne Diamond League last month. After throwing in the 83m range for most of the night, the reigning World Champion pushed himself to throw 85.58m in the fifth attempt and managed a season-best throw of 89.49m in his final attempt. Peters took top honours with a monstrous 90.61m final throw, which was also a new Meet Record.
Each Diamond League season finale champion is awarded the prestigious “Diamond Trophy”, USD 30,000 prize money and a wild card for the World Athletics Championships.