Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena are the Indian athletes on show in the Doha Diamond League on Friday, May 10. Neeraj has happy memories of participating in the tournament after winning the gold medal last year with a best throw of 88.67m in his first attempt at the Qatar Sports Club.
He defeated Jakub Vadlejch from the Czech Republic who won the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Since winning the Olympic gold in Tokyo, Neeraj has grown in stature and is one of India’s most decorated athletes.
Jena, on the other hand, has come up the ranks over the last 12 months or so. He put in a strong performance in the Asian Games last year in Hangzhou after he racked up his best throw of 87.54m. The 28-year-old star also finished fifth in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a best throw of 84.77m.
In the Doha Diamond League, Kishore Jena and Neeraj Chopra will face a tough challenge from former world champion Anderson Peter, who finished third last time in Doha, Jakub, and Julius Yego. Roderick Genki Dean, Oliver Helander, and Andrian Mardare are some of the other participants.
Neeraj Chopra returns after six months
The Doha Diamond League marks the beginning of the athletes’ participation in the Paris Olympics from July 26 to August 11. Neera Chopraj will return to action after six months since participating in the Asian Games last year in October.
The focus will also be on Neeraj on whether he can breach the 90-metre mark. Last year, in the Stockholm Diamond League, he got close to the record after he threw 89.94m.
With less than three months to go for the Olympics, Neeraj will be looking to get himself in shape to win back-to-back medals in the quadrennial event.
