Neeraj Chopra wins Doha Diamond League 2023; throws 88.67m for top spot

Neeraj Chopra won the Doha Diamond League 2023 with a throw 88.67 metres during the one-day prestigious event at the Qatar Sports Club in Doha on Friday (May 5). Neeraj finished ahead of his rivals Jakub Vadlejch and Anderson Peters in a tough field.

Neeraj Chopra's winning throw came as early as the first throw and is now also the world-leading throw of the 2023 season. The 25-year-old Indian's six-throw sequence on the night was 88.67m, 86.04, 85.47, X, 84.37, 86.52.

Photo Credit: Screengrab/Jio Cinema

Czech rival Vadlejch kept the pressure on Neeraj throughout the night as the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist threw 88.63m and 88.47m among his top attempts. The reigning World Champion Anderson Peters could only manage a best of 85.88 for third spot finish. Chopra also bagged a prize money of $10,000 (Rs 8.17 lakh approx.) with the win.

The win helped Neeraj Chopra star bag eight points in his attempt to seal the Diamond League Finals spot. The final is slated in Eugene, Oregon on September 16-17. The next men's javelin throw event will be in Laussane Diamond League on June 30 followed by Monaco on July 21. The fourth and final Diamond League event consisting of men's javelin throw is in Zurich on August 31.

With the win, Chopra continued his habit of starting the season with a bithrow since 2020. In January 2020, Neeraj qualified for the Olympics in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Potchefstroom with a throw of 87.86 metres.

The 2021 season beginning saw him hurl 88.07m during Indian Grand Prix in Patiala in March before his Olympic triumph. His biggest throw at the beginning of a season came last year when he threw 89.30m in Turku in June 2022.

The other Indian participating in the Doha Diamond League was triple jumper Eldhose Paul, who finished a disappointing 10th in his tournament debut with a best attempt of 15.84m. It was a poor performance by the reigning Commonwealth Games as his personal best is 16.99m and won the Birmingham medal with a wind-assisted jump of 17.03m.