Neeraj Chopra is set to return to action in the Lausanne Diamond League as he faces a tough test in a challenging field. Chopra will be among 10 top athletes in the field for the fourth leg of the Diamond League competition in the Swiss city. The event will take place on August 21 as Chopra prepares for the Asian Games later in September.
This will be only the third event in which the former Olympic champion will participate after opening the season in the Doha Diamond League and finishing fourth with a throw of 85.69m. He won the silver in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games with his new season best throw of 85.89m in Glasgow. Chopra was hampered by back issues last year and missed the other two Diamond Leagues – Rabat and Rome – as he continued his rehabilitation.ย
Tough field at Lausanne awaits Chopra
The 28-year-old from Haryana will have to contend with a pretty strong field at the Lausanne Diamond League. There will be the reigning Commonwealth Champion Rumesh Pathirage, who also holds the world lead of 92.62m. He speared his javelin to 89.75m in Glasgow to win the gold. Then there is the current Olympic Champion Arshad Nadeem, although he is struggling this season.ย
Current world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and Germany’s former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler will also present his case in the Swiss city. Jakub Vadlejch, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, Germany’s Julian Weber, Switzerland’s Simon Wieland and American Curtis Thompson are also part of the 10-man field.
Lausanne Diamond League entry list:
Anderson Peters (Grenada)
Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan)
Curtis Thompson (USA)
Jakub Vadlejch (Czechia)
Julian Weber (Germany)
Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago)
Neeraj Chopra (India)
Rumesh Pathirage (Sri Lanka)
Simon Wieland (Switzerland)
Thomas Rรถhler (Germany)
Chopra eyes Diamond League return
After another impressive performance at the Commonwealth Games, the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist stated that he would be returning to action for the Diamond League leg before the Asian Games. After the Lausanne leg, Zurich will hold the next leg for javelin on August 27 before the final in Brussels on September 4/5. The Asian Games will take place in Aichi-Nagoyaย from September 19 to October 4. “I can’t say fitness is like before. But I’m getting there slowly. There is still time for the Asian Games. I will compete in the Diamond League before that. There will be more improvement. Will improve slowly,” Chopra said after the silver win in Glasgow.
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