Just a month after his silver medal-winning effort at the 2024 Paris Olympics, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be in action yet again in Brussels, Belgium to reclaim his title at the 2024 Diamond League Final.
In the 2022 edition of the elite athletics meet, Chopra had become the first Indian to win the title before finishing as runner-up to Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch last year.
The final in Brussels is expected to be Chopra’s final appearance of the 2024 season, before he takes a call on the long standing groin injury.
Chopra, however, will not be the only Indian competing in Brussels, as men’s 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable will also be competing.
Sable had qualified for the Diamond League Final last year as well but had then pulled out of the competition at the last minute.
Diamond League refresher
The Diamond League Final is the culmination of 14 Diamond League meets held in as many cities over the course of five months. At the Diamond League meets, athletes from 16 disciplines compete for points. Not all events are in one meet, with each meet featuring a collection of different disciplines.
At the end of the 14 meets, the athletes with the most points, according to each discipline, qualify for the Diamond League Final.
At each of the meets, athletes are awarded 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 points for ranking first to eighth respectively. The top six in the field events, top eight for 100m-800m and the top ten for 1500m and long distance events will qualify for the Final.
In case of a tie, the athlete with the best legal performance of the season is ranked higher.
The men’s javelin event was featured in four Diamond League meets in Doha, Paris, Lausanne, and Zurich, whereas men’s 3000m steeplechase was held in five meetings – Doha, Marrakech, Stockholm, Paris, and Silesia.
Standings at the meets
Grenada’s Anderson Peters finished on top of the men’s javelin throw standings with 29 points, winning the Lausanne and Zurich meets following the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Germany’s Julian Weber (21) and Vadljech (16) finished ahead of Chopra, who finished fourth in the standings with a total of 14 points. The Indian competed in only two out of the four Diamond League meets this season, finishing second to Vadlejch in his season opener in Doha and second to Peters in Lausanne last month.
Avinash Sable, meanwhile, finished 14th in the men’s 3000m steeplechase standings, earning three points with a sixth-place finish in the Paris meet. He finished a lowly 14th in his only other meet in Silesia.
Sable, however, qualified for the Diamond League Final in Brussels on the back of withdrawals from Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, Geordie Beamish of New Zealand and two other athletes.
Level of competition
Compared to the field at the Paris Olympics, Chopra has a relatively easier field in Brussels with the newly crowned Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem not in action. Vadljech has also decided to pull out of the event.
This leaves Chopra with two strong competitors in Peters and Germany’s Weber. Out of the seven throwers in action, only Peters with a throw of 90.61m has a better season best than Chopra’s 89.49m.
The two-time Olympic medallist from India will also have the elusive 90m mark on his mind when he steps out for the all-important final.
As for Sable in men’s 3000m steeplechase, the Indian will have a stacked field despite the absence of Girma. The likes of Soufiane El Bakkali, Abraham Kibiwot, Samuel Firewu will all pose a strong challenge for the Indian.
The Diamond League Final will be broadcast live on Sports18 and live streamed on Jio Cinema.
The men’s 3000m steeplechase final will start at 12.39 am IST on Saturday
The men’s javelin throw final will start at 11.52 pm IST on Saturday.
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