Neeraj Chopra wins Doha Diamond League with world-leading 88.67m throw in 2023
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra began his 2023 season on a high, finishing first in the highly-competitive 10-man men’s javelin field at the Doha Diamond League on Friday, May 5.
Neeraj Chopra, the first Indian to win the Diamond Trophy last year, began the competition with a stunning throw of 88.67m, his first attempt at the prestigious Doha Diamond League at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium, which is known for being a conducive venue for some of the biggest throws registered in men’s javelin.
Neeraj, dressed in a white t-shirt and black headband, in fact, was not very impressed with his first throw even though the 88.67m throw was the world-leading throw after the first attempt at the Doha Diamond League.
This is the third time Neeraj has topped the field at the Diamond League after the win in Lausanne in August 2022 and the Diamond League Final victory in Zurich.
Neeraj’s personal best throw of 89.94m came when he finished second at the Stockholm Diamond League in June 2022.
NEERAJ’S PROGRESSION IN DOHA
1st attempt: 88.67m
2nd attempt: 86.04m
3rd attempt: 85.47m
4th attempt: Foul
5th attempt: 84.37m
6th attempt: 86.52m
The tradition continued as Neeraj’s first throw was the best throw of the competition. Neeraj was not able to go past the 90m barrier and set a new personal best (89.94m) but the conditions at the iconic stadium were not conducive for big throws.
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch impressed with a series of throws in excess of 85m and he finished 2nd with a best throw of 88.63m.
World Champion Anderson Peters, who had thrown in excess of 93m in Doha last year, finished third with a best effort of 85.88m.
Neeraj Chopra headed into the Doha Diamond League on the back of winning the Diamond Trophy last year. He won the Diamond League finale in Zurich to become the first Indian athlete to achieve the honour in the elite track and field event.
Neeraj Chopra won the Diamond Trophy with an 88.44m throw after a series of consistent performances in the season that saw him qualify for the final.