After silver, Chopra takes field in Lausanne in bid for Diamond League title

Two weeks after winning his historic silver medal at the Paris Olympics star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will resume action at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting on Thursday seeking to reclaim the DL trophy at the seasonending finale next monthNursing a longstanding groin injury Chopra claimed a silver in the Paris Olympics on August 8 with a 8945m throw having won a historic gold in the Tokyo edition of the Games three years agoThe 26yearold double Olympic medallist Indian on Saturday confirmed his participation at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne leaving a decision on a possible surgery after the end of the seasonChopra was the Diamond League champion in 2022 and finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic in the winnertakesall DL final in Eugene USA last yearThis seasons DL finals will be held in Brussels on September 14 He needs to finish in the topsix of the Diamond League meetings series standings to qualify for the season finaleAlso Read Paris Paralympics Will India achieve a landmark medal count beyond TokyoThere is another DL meeting in Zurich on September 5 which has mens javelin throw event in its rosterHe is currently at fourth spot with seven points he has garnered after finishing second behind Vadlejch in the Doha Diamond League on May 10After a busy couple of days post the Olympic final on August 8 Chopra started training in Switzerland and is determined to finish the season on a high despite being restricted by the injuryI came to Switzerland for training ahead of the Diamond League Luckily I did not aggravate my injury as I took extra care of thatI 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 he had said last weekChopra will be up against a topclass field in Lausanne with five of the topsix finishers in Paris Olympics final competing Only Pakistans Arshad Nadeem who stunned the athletics world by winning the gold with an Olympic record throw of 9297m is missingNadeem had finished fourth in the Paris Diamond League on July 7 with a throw of 8421m That was the only DL meeting as well as the lone event apart from the Olympics he had taken part this season He is currently at sixth spot in the standings with five pointsHaving pushed to the fourth spot with a throw of 8850m in Paris after winning a silver in Tokyo Vadlejch would be looking to maintain his form in his bid to defend the DL titleTwotime world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada who took the bronze in the Paris Olympics with 8854m has been on the ascendancy after a poor last season and he is capable of pulling off big throws having already gone past the 90m mark in his careerChopra has been the most consistent javelin thrower in the last couple of seasons before Nadeem pulled off the heist in Paris and the Indian will start as favourite in Lausanne on ThursdayHe has been managing his groin injury since winning the gold in the Budapest World Championships last yearThe 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 saidWith agency inputs