Neeraj Chopra finishes 2nd in Diamond League Final behind Anderson Peters
September 14, behind Paris Olympics bronze medallist Anderson Peters in the men’s javelin competition.
Competing at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Neeraj’s best attempt was 87.86 meters, just one centimetre behind Peters. Peters won the prestigious Diamond Trophy, announcing his return to form in the 2024 season.
Germany’s Julian Weber finished third with his best effort of 85.97 meters. Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem and last year’s Diamond Trophy winner Jakub Vadlejch did not compete in the Brussels Diamond League Final on Saturday.
On a cold night in Brussels, where temperatures ranged between 10-13 degrees Celsius, Neeraj finished as runner-up in the Diamond League for the second year in a row. Back in 2023, Neeraj had fallen short of defending his Diamond Trophy, losing to Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch. In that event, Neeraj had thrown 83.80m, while Vadlejch had won the title with 84.24m.
On Saturday, Neeraj did better than last year but lost the title by a whisker to Grenada’s Peters.
NEERAJ’S BEST THROW IN BRUSSELS
Neeraj had started the event strong with a throw of 86.82 meters, only behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters. Chopra was just a little over 1 meter short behind Peters’ first throw of 87.87m. The Indian javelin star was not able to better his distance with his second throw (83.49m) but hit back in the third, with a mega throw of 87.86m.
While Anderson Peters did not improve his first throw in his third attempt, Neeraj kept himself in the hunt, trailing by just 0.01m to Peters.
The duo were head and shoulders above the rest of the pack, with only Germany’s Julian Weber staying close to the duo with his first throw of 85.97m. The German, former European champion, slowly faded away from the competition in his next throws, hitting 82.61m, 82.15m and 81.46m in his next three attempts.
While the Indian fans expected Neeraj to overtake Anderson Peters, Neeraj fell short on his fourth try with an attempt of 82.04m. The star Indian athlete looked concerned at times while returning from his mark. The Indian star was not able to better himself in the last two throws, registering 83.30m and 86.46m in his final two attempts.
Neeraj appeared reluctant to push himself too hard, mindful of the groin issue that has bothered him throughout the season. The two-time Olympic medalist plans to consult with doctors to decide whether surgery will be necessary at the end of the season.
Peters on the other hand nearly matches his best throw with his final attempt, landing his javelin at 87.86m matching Neeraj’s best throw on the day.
This marks the end of the season for Neeraj Chopra, who won the silver medal in the Paris Olympics with a mega throw of 89.45m. Neeraj, however, was not able to come close to his season-best on Saturday.