 "Neeraj Chopra")
Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra finished second at the Doha Diamond League meeting javelin throw event as his big final effort of 88.36m fell short by two centimeters of Jakub Vadlejch's winning effort here on Friday.
The 26-year-old Chopra trailed Czech Republic veteran Vadlejch -- who won the title with his third round throw of 88.38m -- all through the competition.
Chopra made a last ditch effort but his final round throw fell 2cm short of Vadlejch's mark as the Indian superstar failed to defend the title he had won won last year.
After missing out on his first attempt, #NeerajChopra comes roaring back with a m throw and climbs to the 2nd spot
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 10, 2024
#DiamondLeagueonJioCinema #DiamondLeagueonSports18 #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/4u272qKoRX
Two-time world champion Anderson Peters took the third sport with a best throw of 86.62m.
Kishore Jena's Diamond League debut ended in disappointment as he was eliminated after three rounds of throws, with 76.31m being his best. He began with a 75.72m, then fouled his second effort, before coming up with 76.31m to be at ninth after three throws each by all the 10 competitors.
| Doha Diamond League 2024 standings | ||
| Rank | Athlete (country) | Best throw |
| 1 | Jakub Vadlejch (Czechia) | 88.38m |
| 2 | Neeraj Chopra (India) | 88.36m |
| 3 | Anderson Peters (Grenada) | 86.62m |
| 4 | Oliver Helander (Finland) | 83.99m |
| 5 | Andrian Mardare (Moldova) | 81.33m |
| 6 | Edis Matusevicius (Lithuania) | 80.05m |
| 7 | Roderick Genki Dean (Japan) | 79.34m |
| 8 | Julius Yego (Kenya) | 78.37m |
| 9 | Kishore Jena (India) | 76.31m |
| 10 | Curtis Thompson (USA) | 73.46m |
The 28-year-old Jena has a personal best of 87.54m, a performance that fetched him a silver medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, but it was not his day on Friday.
Vadlejch had won a silver in the Tokyo Olympics and a bronze in the 2023 World Championships, the two events in which Chopra had won gold.
Chopra had won the 2023 Doha Diamond League with a throw of 88.67m, ahead of Vadlejch (88.63) and Peters (85.88m).
The next Diamond League meeting which has men's javelin as a discipline will be in Paris on July 7.
At each DL meeting, athletes are awarded 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 points for ranking first to to eighth respectively. The top six javelin throwers will compete in the Diamond League Finals in Brussels on September 13-14 and the winner will lift the DL champion's trophy.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
