Diamond League Finals: Neeraj Chopra finishes second with a throw of 83.80 meters, fails to defend title

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Diamond League champion's title with the best throw of 83.80 meters in Eugene on Saturday. Chopra, who won gold in the World Athletics Championships last month, was taken aback by windy conditions in the final at the Hayward Field.

This was Chopra's first below 85 meter throw of the season. He had qualified for the Diamond League Finals at the third spot. He had won the 2022 Diamond League Finals in Zurich with a throw of 88.44 meters. Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic became the Diamond League champion for the third time with a best throw of 84.24 meters which came in his sixth and final attempt. He was leading the six-man field from the beginning following his first round effort of 84.01 meters.

#Proud#IndianArmy congratulates Subedar Neeraj Chopra for finishing Second in the Diamond League Final 2023, #Eugene with a throw of 83.80 meters.@Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/7N5j0rihtA

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) September 17, 2023 

Vadlejch, who won bronze in Budapest Worlds and silver in Tokyo Olympics behind Chopra, had also clinched the DL title in 2017 and 2018 also. This was the same venue where Chopra had finished second in the 2022 World Championships.