Hours after historic gold at Asian Games, Neeraj Chopra leaves for Zurich for Diamond League meet

Jakarta, August 28: Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday (August 28) left for Zurich, hours after clinching a historic gold in the Asian Games 2018 to take part in the prestigious Diamond League Final on August 30.

The 20-year-old Chopra easily bagged the gold medal in men's javelin throw on Monday (August 27) with a national record throw of 88.06m, the sixth best in the world this season. While he dominated the field in Jakarta, he will face the world's best in the Diamond League Final, a roster that includes Olympic champion Thomas Roehler of Germany and last year's winner, Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic.

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"Yes, he has left Jakarta for Zurich to take part in the Diamond League Final. He had to leave hours after winning the gold (in Asian Games)," an official from the Indian team said.

The eight-man field in Zurich will have two competitors -- Roehler (91.78m) and his German compatriot Andreas Hofmann (92.06m) -- who have thrown above the magic mark of 90m this season. Vadlejch of Czech Republic, on the other hand, has a season's best of 89.02m.

Going by the season's best, Chopra is fifth among the eight competitors but he qualified as sixth best because of his points. He has a total of 12 points after taking part in three Diamond League Series legs. He finished fourth in Doha, sixth in Eugene and fifth in Rabat. He missed the Birmingham leg on August 18 due to the Asian Games 2018.

The points were accumulated over the 14-leg Diamond League Series in a season. The top eight finishers in each leg get prize money. The eighth-placed athlete gets $1000 while the winner pockets $10,000.

For the Diamond League Final in Zurich, the prize money has been enhanced with the eighth-place athlete taking home $2,000 and the winner pocketing $50,000.

Chopra will also compete in the IAAF Continental Cup to be held in Ostrava, Czech Republic from September 8-9. Muhammed Anas (400m), Jinson Johnson (800m), Arpinder Singh (Triple Jump), Hima Das (400m), PU Chitra (1500m) and Sudha Singh (3000m Steeplechase) are the other Indians taking part as members of Asia-Pacific team.