In the fight for the Diamond League final, world champion Neeraj Chopra is now third on the points standings, while Sreeshankar Murali, who finished fifth in Zurich, is third overall.
Since both long jumper Sreeshankar Murali and javelin thrower neeraj Chopra placed in the top six on the points table after the conclusion of the Zurich leg on Thursday night, India will have two athletes competing in the Diamond League final in Eugene, which will take place on September 16 and 17.
Sreeshankar wasn’t at his best, while Chopra didn’t give Zurich his all, but they both placed third in the charts with 23 and 14 points, respectively.
Perhaps the stress of competing in a Diamond League barely four days after being named World Champion contributed to it. Neeraj Chopra of India didn’t have an easy night in Zurich because he received three no marks, but he still managed to throw 85.71 meters in the sixth and final round to place second to Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic (85.86 meters). In a close race, Julian Webber of Germany came in third with 85.04.
After four rounds, the top three positions on the points chart are held by Vadlejch (29), Webber (25), and Chopra (23).
The top six advance to Eugene for the Diamond League championship in mid-September.
Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, the only Indian competing in Zurich, came in fifth with a best leap of 7.99 metres. After four events, Sreeshankar is in third place with 14 points, behind Swiss competitor Simon Ehammer (23 points) and world champion Maltiadis Tentoglou (29 points). Tajay Gayle of Jamaica came in second (8.07m), while Tentoglou took first place in Zurich with 8.20 metres.
Chopra, the reigning Diamond League champion, began with a modest 80.79 metres before getting two straight zeros. Chopra, however, achieved an 85.22 in the fourth round, placing her in the top three at the end of the fifth. The top three competitors, Vadlejch, Chopra, and Germany’s Webber, received the sixth and final attempt.
A really large throw would be unexpected considering all three were in Zurich just four days after the World Championships final and their bodies might have been a little worn out. Chopra had claimed that following his gold-medal performance in Budapest on Sunday night, his back and shoulders were still in discomfort.
Vadlejch went first in the sixth and final round, but he lost his balance close to the scratch line and was penalised. On a chilly night, Chopra wasn’t at his best, but in the last round, he made his greatest throw with 85.71 metres, falling just 15 centimetres short of Vadlejch. In the sixth and final round, Webber produced the least amount of the three, 84.92 metres, to finish third. Webber’s fourth-round throw of 85.04 metres was his best of the evening.
Chopra received seven points for coming in second in Zurich. With an adductor issue still a concern, Chopra missed Monaco near the end of July in order to save himself for the World Championships.
However, despite not being at his best physically, Chopra once again showed he is capable of delivering the goods when it matters. By the end of the third round, Chopra with 80.79 and two no marks against his name, was down in fifth place.
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Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra is currently the world champion in athletics.
