Neeraj Chopra misses second Diamond League title by an agonising 1 cm; finishes second behind Anderson

NEW DELHI: One centimetre. That was the agonising difference which kept India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra from reclaiming a second Diamond League Final title in Brussels. It was the distance which separated Neeraj from eventual champion, Grenada's Anderson Peters, and a top podium finish on a cold and windy Saturday night in the Belgium capital.

In the end, double Olympics medallist Neeraj narrowly missed out on the title after finishing second with a best throw of 87.86m on his third attempt, falling just 0.01m short of Grenadian's effort of 87.87m – achieved on his very first heave of javelin. Germany's Julian Weber, who threw 85.97m, finished third despite an underwhelming 77.75m on his last attempt.

With his runner-up finish, Neeraj brought the curtains down on another successful 2024 athletics season, during which he finished second at the Doha Diamond League and won Paris Olympics silver medal. He also registered three throws beyond the 89m-mark this season.

Neeraj's series of throws read 86.82m, 83.49m, 87.86m, 82.04m, 83.30m and 86.46m. Anderson came up with efforts of 87.87m, 86.96m, 85.40m, 85.85m, 84.11m and 87.86m -- the last one matching Neeraj's mark.

The reigning World and Asian Games champion had won the Diamond League trophy in 2022. This was Neeraj's fifth appearance in the DL Final. He finished seventh in 2017, fourth in the following year and won the crown in 2022 with an 88.44m throw. Last year, he finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch with an effort of 83.80m.

Competed with broken hand

Neeraj later revealed that he competed in the Brussels DL Final with a broken hand while expressing his displeasure over not meeting his own expectations this season.

"As the 2024 season ends, I look back on everything I've learned through the year - about improvement, setbacks, mentality and more. On Monday, I injured myself in practice and x-rays showed that I had fractured the fourth metacarpal in my left hand. It was another painful challenge for me. But with the help of my team, I was able to participate in Brussels," Neeraj wrote on 'X'.


"This was the last competition of the year, and I wanted to end my season on the track. While I couldn't meet my own expectations, I feel this was a season in which I learned a lot. I am now determined to return, fully fit and ready to go. I want to thank all of you for your encouragement. 2024 has made me a better athlete and person. See you in 2025," he added.

Neeraj has had his fair share of struggles this season, revealing after his medal-winning show in Paris that he was carrying a groin injury coming into the Games which hampered his performance. Neeraj is expected to consult doctors upon his return to India and will look to recover and rehabilitate before commencing another athletics season.

It was a tough night for all the competitors in Brussels as Weber put out later. "It was rather cold and, in the warming-up area there was no track, only grass. When we come to the stadium, the track is rather hard and the difference is big, so that made it a little difficult for us javelin throwers," he said after the event.


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