India's two-time Olympic medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has qualified for the Diamond League 2024 final to be held on September 13 and 14 in Brussels. Neeraj is placed fourth in the Diamond League standings with 14 points. He had opted out of the Zurich leg as he wanted to avoid a groin injury and strengthen his blocking leg ahead of the final.
In Neeraj's absence, there were no records broken in Zurich. Grenada's Anderson Peters threw 85.72m to finish first. He was followed by Germany's Julian Weber with a 85.33m throw. Japan's Roderick Genki Dean finished third as he recorded a 82.69m throw.
The six athletes who qualified for the Diamond League are - Peters (29 points), Weber (21 points), Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch (16 points), Neeraj (14 points), Moldova's Andrian Mardare (13 points) and Roderick (12 points).
Pakistan’s Paris Olympics gold medallist Arshad Nadeem missed out on the final spot with five points to his name. He opted out of three qualification rounds due to an injury which he carried at the games to break the all-time Olympic record.
Neeraj’s run in Diamond League 2024
Earlier, Neeraj recorded second-place finishes in Doha (May 10) and Lausanne (August 22). In Lausanne, he threw 89.49m to almost secure his place in the final. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist is still aiming to break the 90m barrier.
Neeraj not ready to push his body beyond limit
The 26-year-old has not been feeling 100 per cent fit. After talking to the doctors, he has understood the need to slow down and listen to his body.
"I need to strengthen my blocking leg when I throw because that's when my groin gets pulled. We're working on that to see how we can reduce the impact on the groin and control the pressure on it," he was quoted as saying by ESPN.
"I could have competed in more events for sure and that was the plan. But I have realised that my health is paramount, that comes first. Even if I feel the slightest discomfort or like I am pushing myself too much in training, I've learnt to pause for a bit," he added.
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