Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra kicked off his preparations for the Paris Olympics this summer at the first leg of the prestigious Diamond League one-day meet series in Doha, Qatar. The reigning world and Asian Games champion faced a star-studded field that included former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and Olympic and world-medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic. Chopra, who holds the national record with a throw of 89.94m, will be looking to defend his title in Doha, where he registered an attempt of 88.67m in 2022. Vadlejch and Peters, with throws of 88.63m and 85.88m respectively, will be among his main challengers.
The event will also feature another Indian, Kishore Kumar Jena, who will be making his Diamond League debut. Jena has a personal best of 87.54m. After this event, Chopra will compete in the National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar from May 12 to 15, marking his first home appearance in three years. Jena will also participate in the event.
The men’s javelin qualifying round will be held on May 14, with the final taking place on May 15.
