Lausanne, Aug 26: India's star javelin thrower and Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra returned to action in style as he emerged as the top performer and won in the Diamond League 2022 in Lausanne Switzerland on Friday (August 26).
Indian golden boy topped the tally with his throw of 89.08 meters while Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch finished second with a throw of 85.88m, which he achieved in his fourth attempt. USA's Curtis Thompson was third with his best throw of the evening of 83.73m.
Chopra's other two attempts were 85.18m and 80.04m but his first throw was enough to help him finish first and win the prize money of $10000.
His first throw was all that was needed 👊
— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) August 26, 2022
A magnificent 89.08m throw was plenty for @Neeraj_chopra1 🇮🇳 to take things a little easier after that as he seals the #DiamondLeague 💎 win here at #LausanneDL 🇨🇭
📸 @matthewquine pic.twitter.com/TsmVpowdUa
With his throw of 89.08, Chopra has ensured a place in the Diamond League final, which will take place in Zurich, Switzerland on September 7 and 8. It was his third-best performance and with that, the 24-year-old has also qualified for the 2023 World Championships.
Neeraj Chopra Medals List: Awards Won, 2022 Schedule and Season Best Throws
Chopra is making his return to action after suffering a minor groin injury during the final of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, where he clinched a silver medal, last month. The star athlete from India is making his comeback after almost a month and had to pull out of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
The Lausanne stopover of the Diamond League has decided the top-six finalists for the big final in Zurich. After his performance here in Lausanne, the Haryana athlete continues to sit in the fourth position. His personal best throw of 89.94m helped him finish second as he earned 7 points in the process. Had Chopra achieved his personal best in Lausanne, he would have earned a few more points but he has to content himself with 15 points only.
Vadlejch, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, meanwhile continues to lead the standings with 27 points, followed by Germany's Julian Weber (19 points) and world champion Anderson Peters (16 points) of Grenada.