The Diamond League will kickstart in Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 30, and all eyes will be on some of the best athletes in the world. From India, two of the biggest names will undoubtedly be Neeraj Chopra and Murali Sreeshankar. Both athletic events will take place during the wee hours of July 1. Murali Sreeshankar's Long Jump event will begin at 12:05 am while Neeraj Chopra’s Javelin Throw event will begin at 12:18 am.
Ahead of the upcoming event, we take a look at both of India's participants and who can challenge them at the Diamond League, Lausanne.
Diamond League, Lausanne: When and where to watch Neeraj Chopra's return to international action?
Neeraj Singh: Javelin Throw — 12:18 am
Returning to action after a month away and missing the FBK Games on June 4 at Hengelo (the Netherlands) and Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on June 13, Neeraj Chopra is ready to build on his gold at the Doha leg of the Diamond League on May 5.
In 2022, the Olympic gold medallist was India's first-ever winner of a medal at the Diamond League, and he will be keen on repeating the feat in Lausanne on Friday. He is already at the top of the standings with eight points to his name, and is closely followed by Jakub Vadlejch with seven points, and Anderson Peters with six points — His two biggest competitions.
Jakub Vadlejch
The Czech star has been in good form coming into the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League. Before his injury, Neeraj moved to the first rank in Javelin Throw but the spot was snatched by Vadlejch with a throw spanning 89.51m at the Paavo Nurmi Games. He finished behind Neeraj at the Tokyo Olympics, and also the 2022 Diamond League.
Anderson Peters
The Grenadian is the current World Championship in Javelin Throw but has not been in great form heading into this competition. Heading to Switzerland, Neeraj Chopra's aim will be to better his season best of 85.88m.
Murali Sreeshankar: Long Jump — 12:05 am
Kicking off India's participation in the competition is young Long Jumper Sreeshankar. Sreeshankar will be riding high on his podium finish in the Paris leg of the Diamond League earlier in 2023. He came third with an impressive jump of 8.09m and also registered a new personal best of 8.41m at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneshwar on June 18.
His performance at the Kalinga Stadium earlier in the year helped him qualify for the World Athletics Championships as well. His 8.41m is also currently the second-best in the world this year, behind compatriot Jeswin Aldrin's national record of 8.42m. However, an injury has ruled the latter, leaving Sreeshankar to shoulder the responsibility of tackling the likes of Miltiadis Tentoglou and Simon Ehammer.
Miltiadis Tentoglou
The world no. 1 Long Jumper from Greece is the current Olympic champion in this event as well. Recently at the European Athletics Team Championships, Tentoglou's jump of 8.34m secured him an impressive victory in Poland. He also came first at the Paris Diamond League, ahead of Sreeshankar and Ehammer.
Simon Ehammer
The second jumper who can cause a lot of problems for Sreeshankar is the host nation's hero Simon Ehammer. He is the current Bronze medal holder at the World Athletics Championship, and is also a decathlete, winning silver at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March 2022.
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