Another historic feat awaits Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra as he will start favourite in the prestigious Diamond League Finals in Zurich on Thursday. Neeraj had made a spectacular return from a one-month injury lay-off by winning the Lausanne leg of the series and qualifying for the two-day finals. He became the first Indian to clinch a league meet title.
He had missed the Birmingham Commonwealth Games due to a groin injury he had suffered during his silver-winning performance in the World Championships in the US in July.
The 24-year-old Indian superstar hit form immediately on return as he hurled the spear to 89.08m in his first attempt to seal the win in style in Lausanne on August 26.
Neeraj will be eyeing his maiden Diamond League Finals title. He had qualified for the Finals in 2017 and 2018 also, finishing seventh and fourth respectively. The six-man javelin throw field will be without world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who is recovering from injuries sustained during an assault last month. Neeraj’s main threat will be the Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic.