Although he won gold at the six-man Potchefstroom Invitational last month, the next Diamond League meeting in Doha will be the first major test for Neeraj Chopra since he announced the Czech legend Jan Zelezy as a new coach.
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Despite the fact that he won the money at the Paris Olympic Games three years after winning gold in Tokyo to cement himself as the biggest athlete in India from all time, the year 2024 was somewhat disappointing for the star of the Indian javelin Neeraj Chopra according to his own extraordinary standards.
Neeraj, after all, had led events around the world and even if he did not throw the most distant javelin, it was his remarkable consistency that helped him secure podiums through a wide variety of events, in addition.
Let us not forget the fact that Chopra also won a gold medal and a silver medal at the world athletics championships in addition to winning the same medals at the Olympic Games, and is one of the only three javelin athletes in the history of sport to hold the Olympic and global titles simultaneously.
Read also | Neeraj Chopra granted an enormous honor by the Indian army before meeting the Diamond League in Doha
However, there is a feat that escaped Chopra throughout her career, cost him two major titles last year and which is at the top of his priority list before the opening event of the season in Doha – rape the 90 -meter bar!
Now or never for Neeraj with regard to the 90m violation
It is the inability to achieve the elusive feat that caused not one but two sorrows for Chopra last year.
The best Chopra launch at the Paris Games last year measured 89.45 m, which was better than the 87.58 m throw that helped him gain gold in Tokyo in 2021. The 27 -year -old had entered the male javelin final in August in August with an effort of 89.34 m and was a strong favorite for winning gold gold medals.
His only legal launch in the final, however, pale compared to a 92.97 m monster by Nadeem, which did not only make him the first Pakistanis to win an individual gold medal during the largest multi-sporting event in the world, but also broke the Olympic record.
More than a month later, during the Diamond League final in Brussels, Chopra missed the title by the most Barest of Margins – one centimeter to be precise. Chopra finished with a better effort of 87.86 m while Anderson Peters of Grenada, who won bronze at the Paris Olympic Games, won the sparkling trophy with a launch of 87.87 m during her very first attempt.
A first 90 -meter throw would have helped Chopra end her season with a trophy. The closest he had come to this brand in 2024 was during the meeting of the Lauusanne Diamond League which took place just after the Olympic Games, where he recorded a better effort of 89.49 m to 45 centimeters less than his best career throw of 89.94 million people recorded during the competition of the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022.
Two months after the Diamond League final, Chopra would separate from the longtime coach, Dr. Klaus Bartonietz, ending a five -year association during which he accomplished each major feat in sport, except the only feat that Chopra continues to be questioned.
And he welcomed Jan Zelezny as a new coach, the legend of the Czech javelin someone who used to cross the 90m bar for pleasure during his stellar career and still holds the record to launch it the furthest – a game of 98.48 million people in 1996 which has remained large for almost three decades.
And it is not only the technical adjustments of Zelezny who will be crucial for Chopra to launch further than ever; He has been fighting against an injury to the groin relating to his adductor muscle for some time now, which had broken out last year and had an impact on his performances.
The army began the 2025 season with an impressive 84.52 m throw on the Potchefstroom Invitational in South Africa last month, comfortably exceeding a six -person field to win gold.
However, it was during the meeting of the Doha Diamond League on Friday that he will be really tested because he will participate alongside Peters as well as Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, Julian Weber of Germany, the compatriot Kishore Jena, among others.
“The Indian community of Doha is so favorable!”@ Neeraj_chopra1 impatiently awaits a support 🇮🇳 to #Dohadl 🇶🇦 Tomorrow.#Diamondleague pic.twitter.com/e15cw1zj4q
– Wanda Diamond League (@diamond_league) May 15, 2025
“I had some problems in my groin. This time, I never lacked session (to launch). So I feel very confident,” Chopra told Doha before her first appearance in the Diamond League 2025.
“I feel really good. The last launching sessions were really great. I’m ready,” he said. “I am very excited to open my season in Doha,” he added.
Defending his world title in Tokyo in September will be the other major objective for Chopra in the 2025 season, and he will certainly face strong competition from Nadeem, Peters, among others.
How Chopra dries up in Doha on Friday will give us a good idea of where he is heading this year.
