Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has qualified for the Diamond League 2025 Final in Zurich, Switzerland scheduled to be held on August 27 and 28.
Chopra, who has hit his personal best this season in Doha, is among the first men’s javelin stars to qualify for the summit clash in Switzerland.
The reigning world champion, who has been experimenting with a new technique under the coaching of Jan Zelezny, has missed several competitions this season.
He last participated in a gold-standard event that he himself hosted in Bengaluru. Neeraj didn’t participate in the Diamond League meeting in Silesia, Poland, on August 16, where he was expected to meet Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem. Arshad, the reigning Olympic champion, himself pulled out of the event citing an injury.
With 15 points from two DL meetings, from one title and one second-place finish, the two-time Olympic medallist has already sealed his qualification for the winner-takes-all finale.
According to the latest rankings released after the Silesia leg, Neeraj has qualified for the summit clash alongside Trinidad & Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott and Germany’s Julian Weber.
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This season, the 27-year-old reigning world champion went past the coveted 90m mark in the Doha DL in May with a throw of 90.23m but finished second behind Weber. He then won the Paris DL title with a throw of 88.16m in June. Chopra will also defend the title at the World Championships to be held in Tokyo from September 13–21, which takes place right after the Diamond League final.
