Neeraj to begin season at Doha Diamond League

OLYMPIC CHAMPION Ne erajC hop raw ill start his 2024 season at the Qatar Sports club in may this year when he competes in the Doha Diamond League. This is an important year for ne eraj,w ho is hoping to defend his olympic gold medal at the paris olympics later this year in July-august.

Neeraj Chopra is the reigning world and Olympic champion in the men’s javelin throw event heading into the 2024 season. He became the first Indian athlete ever to be crowned the Diamond League champion when he clinched the Diamond Trophy in 2022.

Competing against the 26-year-old Neeraj at Doha will be the likes of Tokyo Olympic silvermedal listjakubv ad lejc hand former world champion Anderson Peters. At the Doha Diamond League meet last season, Neeraj had defeated both v ad lejc hand peters with an im press ive88.67m heave.

The trio will be joined at the do ha diamond League meet by European champion Julian Weber (Germany, personal best of 89.54m), World championships finalist oliver he land er (Fimland, PB 89.83m), Qatari national record holder Ahmed Bader Magour (Qatar, PB 85.23m), Asian Games silver medallist and World Championships finalist Kishore Jena (India, PB 87.54m), World University Games champion Edis Matusevicius (Lithuania, PB 89.17m), Asian champion and Asian Games bronze medallist Roderick Genki Dean (Japan, PB 84.28m), Moldovan record holder and Olympic finalist Andrian Mardare (Moldova, PB 86.66m) and Pan American Games champion Curtis Thompson (USA, PB 87.70m).

“Last year my dream was to win the World Championships, but to have three Indian athletescompeting in the final–that shows we’ re progressing as a nation,” said Neeraj in a statement by Diamond League. “This year, my personal goal is to defend my Olympic title, but it would also mean a lot to me to break the 90m barrier. The Doha Meeting, with good conditions and a great atmosphere, is a perfect opportunity to get my season off to the best start. I’m always overwhelmed by the warm support I get from Indians across the world and in Qatar that is particularly special. I feel privileged that so many people come out to supportmean di ho pei can re pay their faith in me with a good performance.”

The Doha meeting is the third meeting of the 2024 Diamond League. The series comprises 15 meetings in total across four different continents.