Neeraj Chopra finishes second in Diamond League final, misses crown by 1 cm

Neeraj Chopra narrowly misses Diamond League title by 1cm, finishes second with 87.86m throw in Brussels.

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra gonisingly missed the Diamond League crown by just one centimeter as he finished second for the second consecutive year with a throw of 87.86m in the season finale in Brussels on Saturday (September 14, 2024).

The 26-year-old Chopra, who had won the DL trophy in 2022 before finishing second last year, achieved his best throw of the day in his third attempt but that was 1cm short of eventual winner Anderson Peters’ 87.87m effort.

Grenada’s Peters, a two-time world champion, produced his best throw of the day in his opening attempt. Julian Weber of Germany was third with 85.97m.

Chopra, who added a silver to his Olympic medal tally in Paris following a historic gold at the Tokyo Games, thus ended his season on a high.

The Indian javelin throw superstar, who has a personal best of 89.94m and season’s best of 89.49m, had a series of 86.82m, 83.49m, 87.86m, 82.04m, 83.30m and 86.46m.

The top three led the seven-man field in the same order for the whole competition.

Peters will collect a Diamond League trophy and USD 30,000 for emerging as the DL champion this season.