Neeraj Chopra Becomes First Indian To Win Zurich Diamond League

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra created another history by being the first Indian to win the Zurich Diamond League Final 2022 in Switzerland on Thursday.

Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win the Diamond League trophy with his second throw, which measured 88.44 meters.

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In his first try of the evening at the Letzigrund Stadium while playing in the cloudy weather, Neeraj Chopra overstepped and was fouled.

The Indian javelin master followed up his first two attempts with a throw of 88.00m. In his fourth and fifth attempts, Neeraj Chopra recorded 86.11 and 87.00 meters, respectively. His last throw had a length of 83.60m.

Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, who finished second in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, lost out to Neeraj Chopra for the championship of the 2016 Diamond League. 

Vadlejch finished second with a best attempt at 86.94m, much short of his season’s and personal record throw of 90.88m at Zurich.

German Julian Weber, the current European champion, finished third with an 83.73m throw. He was followed by Curtis Thompson of the USA (82.40 meters), Patriks Gailums of Latvia (80.44 meters), and Leandro Ramos, the national champion of Portugal (71.96m).

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Six finalists participated at the Grand Final in Zurich after earning their spots there by competing in various Diamond League competitions this year.

Leandro Ramos, a reserve athlete, took the place of world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada in the 2022 championship match because Peters was unable to recover from an incident that occurred off the field.

While everything was going on, Neeraj Chopra, who had previously won the Lausanne Diamond League and placed second at the Stockholm Diamond League back in June, qualified for his third Diamond League Grand Final. 

When he threw 89.94 meters at the Stockholm competition, he broke his own national record.

Neeraj Chopra, one of eight finalists at the 2017 Diamond League Final, placed seventh with an 83.80m throw. 

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The next year, with improved technique, the Indian javelin thrower placed fourth with a throw of 85.73 meters.

The victory also put an end to Neeraj Chopra’s productive 2022 campaign.

This season, the 24-year-old Indian javelin ace participated in six events and twice set new records. 

Neeraj Chopra made history in July by being the first Indian to take home a silver medal in the world athletics championships.

Despite having to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games 2022 owing to a groyne ailment, the Indian athlete celebrated his comeback by winning a Diamond League competition in Lausanne and later became the first Indian to take home a Diamond League trophy.