Neeraj Chopra’s Diamond League tilt faces Czech challenge

Neeraj Chopra’s Diamond League tilt faces Czech challenge

Neeraj Chopra’s Diamond League tilt faces Czech challenge: The current women’s javelin world record holder, Barbora Spotakova, was Jakub Vadlejch’s training partner when he started throwing javelins as a teenager in the Czech Republic. 

After seeing Spotakova’s success under Jan Zelezny, the men’s world record holder and great coach, Vadlejch took the same decision. Vadlejch has been wise in his early role models.

The Czech Republic’s coach, Zelezny, was present in Rio when three of his athletes—Neeraj Chopra, Vadlech Vesely, and Vitezslav Vesely—took home medals. Germany’s in-form thrower heading into the competition, Johannes Vetter, didn’t make it to the final, and India’s first gold in track and field overshadowed the Czech Republic’s 1-2-3 result.

Championships

In August’s World Championships, Vadlejch finished a just four centimeters short of silver, trailing only Chopra. As of his fourth attempt, he was in second place with 88.09 metres, but Chopra passed him with 88.13 metres.

The hype leading to the Eugene final centred on the matchup between Olympic champion Ryan Lochte and world champion Anderson Peters. Vadlejch wasn’t in the spotlight since Peters threw three games with scores of 90 or higher and he was defending his world title.

The Czech thrower has never been able to beat Chopra in any of the four contests in which they have both participated, but he has always been considered a possible spoiler.

A tremendous competitor who refuses to give up, Vadlejch will keep Chopra on his toes at the Diamond League final in Zurich.

The Indian’s season goal is to make history by becoming his country’s first ever Diamond League Champion. Peters is not participating with the other six men because he is still recovering from injuries he sustained in a boat fight. Chopra is the favourite because of his consistent performance and ability to rise to the occasion.

From May forward, Vadlejch has participated in a lengthy season, in which he has appeared in a total of thirteen competitions. But if he’s rested and feeling good, he can make a spectacular throw. With a 90.88-meter performance at the Doha Diamond League in May, he is the only finalist to have ever thrown more than 90 metres.

He has won the Diamond League in 2016 and 2017, making him a veteran in the competition.

But does the Czech still have enough gas in the tank to pull off an upset at the season’s end?

Vadlejch didn’t give Chopra much of a fight in Lausanne, where the Diamond League just finished off. After missing the Commonwealth Games with a groyne injury, the Olympic champion returned to form with a winning throw of 89.08 metres in his first tournament back. Vadlejch placed second with a distance of 85.88m.

Chopra’s final competition may come from several other players, including Germany’s Julian Weber. With Vetter and Thomas Rohler both sidelined due to injury, he has kept the German flag flying. Weber’s best distance is 89.54 metres, and he has run 86 and 87 metres before. Although all six finalists have set new personal bests in 2018, only Weber, Vadlejch, and Chopra have thrown further than 89 metres.

Chopra also competed in the 2017 and 2018 Diamond League finals, where she placed sixth and fourth, respectively. After coming so close to Rohler in the third position four years ago, he almost missed out. After that, Chopra made tremendous strides forward.

Games

A total of six of his tournaments since his Olympic gold in Tokyo have seen him place in the top three. On three separate occasions, he has thrown more than 89 metres. After a long break following the Olympics, he returned with a throw of 89.30 metres in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku. 

With a new national record of 89.94 metres, he finished in third place in the Diamond League meet in Stockholm, marking his first time ever finishing in the top three at a Diamond League meet. He nearly broke the 90-meter barrier at Lausanne, coming in at 89.08 metres.

A big part of Chopra’s success as a thrower stems from the fact that he never seems to change his form. His coach, Klaus Bartonietz, had remarked before the World Championships that Chopra was more consistent in technique than other competitors and that consistency is a strong platform for a thrower.

Concerns about Chopra’s health stemming from a groyne injury she sustained while competing for silver at the World Championships have been put to rest. If he were to finish the season with the Diamond League Trophy in his possession, it would be the ideal capper to an incredible year. Unless there’s a twist in store from Vadlejch or Weber.