Anurag Thakur congratulates Neeraj Chopra for clinching Diamond League meet title in Lausanne
Aug 27, 2022
New Delhi [India], August 27 : Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur praised India's ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra for clinching the Diamond League meeting title in Lausanne and becoming the first Indian to do so.
Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra on Friday won the javelin throw competition at the Lausanne Diamond League with a best throw of 89.08m.
"Neeraj is one of those athletes who sweats it out when no one is watching, prepares and plans - the battle is already won on game day. Congratulations @Neeraj_chopra1 on becoming the 1st Indian to win a #DiamondLeague Meet & claim the top spot at #LausanneDL w/ a 89.08m throw!," tweeted the minister.
With his best throw at the event, Chopra became the first Indian to clinch the prestigious Diamond League Meeting title with a win in Lausanne.
Neeraj has thus qualified for the Diamond League Finals, which will take place in Zurich, Switzerland from September 7 and 8. He has also now qualified for the 2023 World Championships.
Neeraj's throw sequence on the day was 89.08m, 85.18m, he skipped the third attempt while making a foul in the fourth. He also skipped his fifth attempt and then made a throw of 80.04m in his sixth and final attempt.
Czech Republic's Jakub Valejch threw 85.88m to claim the second spot while USA's Curtis Thompson hurled 83.72m for the third spot.
Earlier in July, Neeraj Chopra was ruled out from Commonwealth Games. He sustained a groin injury in the finals of the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, where he clinched the silver medal, to end India's 19-year-long wait for a medal at the world championships.
Neeraj had finished second in the Stockholm leg of the prestigious event trailing one spot behind the world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada with a national record throw of 89.94m, just 6cm short of the 90m mark, the gold standard in the world of javelin throw.
