New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra will aim to step up bid to reclaim the Diamond League title with a victory at the Lausanne leg of the event on Thursday, two weeks after grabbing the silver medal at Paris Olympics.
In his defence of the gold medal he won the Tokyo 2020, the ace javelin thrower got silver at Paris 2024, as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem set an Olympic record to win gold.
Chopra later said that his title defence was hampered by a groin injury and flew to Germany from Paris to consult specialist doctors for his long-standing complaint.
But with the 26-year-old confirming his participation in Lausanne on Saturday, any decision on a potential operation on his groin is now expected to be made after the conclusion of the season.
In 2022, Chopra was the Diamond League champion and was second in the DL final in Eugene, USA, last year. The 2024 season finale is scheduled to be held in Brussels on September 13-14.
The reigning World champion needs to be within the top-six of the Diamond League standings to qualify for the season finale. He is currently in the fourth spot, having claimed seven points for finishing second in the Doha leg on May 10.
Call on injury after season end
After Lausanne and before Brussels, Chopra will have the Zurich leg on September 5 to confirm his place in the top six and resumed training in Switzerland after consulting doctors in Germany.
“I came to Switzerland for training ahead of the Diamond League. Luckily, I did not aggravate my injury as I took extra care of that. I thought of continuing my season like most other athletes. There is one month to go until the season ends. I will go to the doctors in my free time,” Chopra said last week.
In Lausanne, Chopra is among five of the top sixes finishers in Paris, with new Olympic champion Nadeem not taking part, who has taken part in only the Paris leg of the Diamond League to be sixth with five points.
Chopra said he will begin his groin treatment, which he has carried along since winning the World Championships gold medal in Budapest last year, once the season gets over.
“The final treatment will be after the season ends. I will try to take care of it as much as possible and consult the doctors later,” he said.
When and where to watch Neeraj Chopra at Lausanne Diamond League?
Neeraj Chopra’s javekn event is set to take place on Friday at 12:12 AM IST.
The 2024 Lausanne Diamond League 2024 will be shown live on Sports 18 TV channel while live streaming will be available on Jio Cinema.
Neeraj Chopra will be back in action after claiming silver medal at Paris Olympics. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
