Neeraj Chopra creates history, becomes first Indian to clinch Diamond League Finals title

ZURICH: Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday achieved yet another historic feat as he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League Finals title. Chopra began with a foul but jumped to the top spot with a throw of 88.44m -- his fourth career best -- in his second attempt, and that turned out to be his winning effort. He had 88.00m, 86.11m, 87.00m and 83.60m in his next four throws. Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic finished second with a best throw of 86.94m which he registered in his fourth attempt. Julian Weber of Germany was third with a best of 83.73m.

The 24-year-old Indian superstar is now the Olympic champion, World Championships silver medallist and Diamond League champion. All these he had achieved in just 13 months. He had won the Olympic gold on August 7 last year in Tokyo. He has produced 88m-plus throw six times this season which showed his consistency. He holds the national record of 89.94m, which he achieved this season. Chopra also ended his international season with a history-scripting performance. The Diamond League Finals can be considered as the most prestigious competition outside of Olympics and World Championships. It was Chopra's third appearance in the Diamond League Finals. He had finished seventh and fourth respectively in 2017 and 2018. Chopra was also awarded a Diamond Trophy, USD 30,000 prize money and a wild card for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He, however, has already qualified for the World Championships as his Lausanne-leg winning throw breached the 85.20m qualifying mark.

Neeraj Chopra (AP Photo)The Diamond League encompasses 32 Diamond Disciplines, following a championship style