Sports: Golden boy Neeraj once again created history, became the first Indian to win the Diamond League
Neeraj Chopra, who won gold for India in the Olympics, won the Lausanne Diamond League with his first throw of 89.08m and became the first Indian to do so.
India’s ‘Golden Boy’ and Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Friday brought laurels to the country by achieving another historic feat. Neeraj Chopra, who won gold for India at the Olympics, won the Lausanne Diamond League with his maiden throw of 89.08m, becoming the first Indian to do so. Recently, Neeraj had given India a silver medal in the World Athletics Championships. He became only the second athlete after Anju Bobby George (2003) to do so. In the final, Neeraj had thrown javelin to a distance of 88.13 meters and won the silver medal.
Qualified for Diamond League Final
Apart from Neeraj in Diamond League, Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Jacob Wadlejch finished second with a best throw of 85.88m, while USA’s Curtis Thompson finished third with a best effort of 83.72m. Earlier, Chopra also qualified for the Diamond League final in Zurich on 7 and 8 September. He also became the first Indian to do so. He also qualified for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary by breaking the 85.20m qualifying mark.
First Indian to win Diamond League
Neeraj Chopra, a resident of Khandara village near Panipat in Haryana has become the first Indian to win the Diamond League crown. Before Chopra, discus thrower Vikas Gowda is the only Indian to finish in the top three in the Diamond League meet. Gowda had finished twice in 2012 in New York and second in Doha in 2014 and Shanghai and Eugene on two occasions in 2015.
Did not participate in Commonwealth Games
It is worth noting that Neeraj Chopra was unable to participate in the Commonwealth Games after being injured in the World Athletics Championships. The country had high hopes from Neeraj, who won the gold medal for the country in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but Neeraj could not participate in 2022 due to injury.
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