New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra, the golden boy of Indian athletics, lived up to his reputation once again, winning the Paris leg of the Diamond League late on Friday with his familiar ‘one and done’ routine in a field where five of the eight competitors had thrown 90m or more.
Chopra’s first throw of the night, 88.16m, was enough to hand him his second win of the season as he finished ahead of Germany’s Julian Weber, who could only throw a best of 87.88m. Weber had beaten Chopra twice in a space of one week in May, first pipping him at the Doha Diamond League where both crossed the 90m mark for the first time. Weber also beat him at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland.
In Paris, Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio da Silva, with a throw of 86.62m, finished third.
Chopra’s win was his fifth at a Diamond League meet and follows his success in Lausanne (2022, 20223), Doha (2023) and Zurich (2022). The reigning world champion, however, could register only two more legal throws on the night, his second throw being a decent 85.10m effort. He fouled his next three attempts before closing out with a modest 82.69m.
Like Chopra, Weber brought out his best throw in his opening attempt while da Silva’s result was a bit of a surprise considering he could not even touch 80m in his five other tries. His 86.62m throw is a South American record, bettering his own 86.34m that he registered in Nairobi in May.
The win was Chopra’s first at a Diamond League meet since his June 2023 result in Lausanne where 87.66m had proved enough. Friday’s outcome, in fact, was the 23rd consecutive event where the two-time Olympic medallist finished in the top two.
It’s indeed a measure of Chopra’s remarkable consistency that one has to go all the way back to 2018 to find his last finish outside the top three. The 88m-plus effort was the 18th occasion of Chopra going past that mark. Ten of them have come since 2022.
For those hoping for Chopra to do a Doha encore and go past the 90m mark once again were in for some disappointment as he struggled to control his speed.
“It was a very good start and I felt really good, but I had too much speed today,” he said after the event.
“The runway was perfect, but I couldn’t handle my speed today. I need to do some more work for my last attack. It was a really good run-up. I’m happy with the run-up and also the throw. The start was good but I was hoping for some more good throws. I’m happy to win here.”
The Indian star has trained under Czech javelin legend Jan Zelezny since the start of this year. While the two are still honing Chopra’s fluid technique, the results are beginning to show.
The 90m barrier was breached just a month back and has fuelled Chopra’s belief to hit that distance more often. Chopra said he needs a stronger core to consistently go past the coveted mark.
“I need some more control when I throw, like on the attack. We are working on it in training, but still, there are so many things we have to change and I need a stronger core and stronger body for throwing,” he said.
Together with the leg muscles, core forms the foundation of all throwing events and a strong abdomen is vital to generation of explosive power. Unlike the likes of Germany’s Johannes Vetter and Pakistan Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem who rely on brute power, and hence put a lot of stress on their lower back, Chopra’s flexibility makes him a lot more durable. Having recovered from a groin niggle that troubled him for the past couple of seasons, the Indian star now hopes to become a consistent 90m thrower.
“I’m expecting some 90m throws (at the Tokyo World Championships in September). I now believe I can do it more often. But let’s see, it depends on the weather and conditions, how the body feels, but maybe I will throw far in this season,” he said.
Next up, Chopra will compete at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet on June 24 before flying to Bengaluru for his own NC Classic.
