Neeraj Chopra primed for podium finish in Stockholm Diamond League

The 24-year-old Chopra was second in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku with a big national record throw of 89.30m before winning his event at Kuortane Games with a creditable 86.60m effort under treacherous conditions. Both the events in Finland had strong fields, though the Turku line-up had more stars than at Kuortane, where Chopra slipped after an awkward release of his spear in his third attempt under slippery conditions due to rains. Luckily, he was up on his feet immediately and won the event without any injury.

"We started training in December, so it was a bit late. I needed to get fit again as my weight had also increased after the Tokyo Games," Chopra said during a pre-event press conference. "I had gained 13kg-14kg, so the plan was to get fit again and hence we started the season a bit late. "Our main target this year are the World Championship and Commonwealth Games as the Asian Games has been postponed," he added. This will be Chopra's first competition in a Diamond League meet after his fourth-place finish in Zurich in August 2018 with an effort of 85.73m. He has taken part in seven Diamond League meets -- three in 2017 and four in 2018 -- but is yet to win a medal. He had two fourth-place finishes, the other one being in Doha in May 2018, where he had thrown 87.43m. The prestigious one-day meet at the Swedish capital will be Chopra's biggest event ahead of the World Championships in Eugene, USA, next month. He will also be facing the toughest field of the season so far with all the three Tokyo Olympics medallists in fray. Germany's Johannes Vetter, who has the maximum number of 90-plus throws among the active throwers, continues to be in the sidelines. He is not fully fit and also did not take part in the