Neeraj targets Diamond League glory as Nadeem misses out

Brussels, Sep 13 (Representative) India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will be the main attraction at the Brussels Diamond League Final 2024, while his arch-rival and Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, will be missing from the line-up. Nadeem, who competed only once in the Diamond League this year, did not qualify for the final, leaving Chopra a clearer path as he aims to reclaim the title he won in 2022. Neeraj Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist, earned his spot in the 2024 Diamond League Final with 14 points across two meets, finishing fourth in the overall standings. The javelin event, where Chopra finished second in both the Doha and Lausanne legs, is set for 15 September at 1:52 AM IST.

He will face tough competition from Anderson Peters of Grenada, who topped the standings with 29 points, Germany’s Julian Webber with 21 points, and Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia, the defending champion. Joining Chopra is steeplechaser Avinash Sable, who will make his Diamond League Final debut on 14 September at 12:39 AM IST. Sable finished 14th in the standings with three points but advanced due to the withdrawal of four higher-ranked athletes. He set a national record of 8:09.91 in the Paris leg and will compete against top names like two-time Olympic champion Soufiane Bakkali of Morocco and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya. This event marks the first time two Indian athletes will compete in a Diamond League Final. Fans in India can catch all the action live on JioCinema or watch the broadcast on Sports18 3 and Sports18 1 HD channels.