Neeraj Chopra’s Diamond League tilt faces Czech challenge

Zelezny, the coach of the Czech Republic team, was at the Olympic Games when two of his trainees Vadlech and Vitezslav Vesely finished on the podium while Neeraj Chopra won the gold. Germany’s Johannes Vetter, the in-form thrower going into the competition, failed to qualify for the final and India’s first gold in track and field pushed the Czech 2-3 finish to the background.

At the World Championships in August, Vadlejch missed out on silver by just four centimetres behind Chopra. He was in second place with 88.09 metres till Chopra edged past him with 88.13 metres in his fourth attempt.

The storyline in the build-up to the final in Eugene was about the showdown between the Olympic champion and world champion Anderson Peters. The three 90-plus throws by Peters and him defending the world title took the spotlight away from Vadlejch.

The Czech thrower has not bettered Chopra in the four competitions they have both featured in but has always lurked as a dark horse.

A great trier, Vadlejch refuses to fade away and in Zurich, at the Diamond League final, he will keep Chopra on his toes.

The Indian is aiming to finish his season on a high by becoming the first from his country to be a Diamond League Champion. Peters is recovering from injuries suffered during a brawl on a boat and is not in the six-man field. Going by form and his ability to step up on a big day, Chopra is favourite.

Vadlejch has had a long season starting in May and featured in 13 competitions. But if fresh and niggle-free, he is capable of a special throw. He is the only one of the finalists to break the 90-metre barrier — his 90.88m was registered at the Doha Diamond League in May. He is also a been-there-done-that thrower, with two back-to-back Diamond League titles in 2016 and 2017. But does the Czech have enough in the tank at the fag end of the season to pull off an upset?

During the recent Lausanne leg of the Diamond League, Vadlejch didn’t challenge Chopra. The Olympic champ, returning to competition after missing the Commonwealth Games because of a groin injury, hit form with an 89.08m throw to finish first. Vadlejch’s 85.88m was only good enough for second.

Among the others who have qualified for the final and could be a threat to Chopra is Germany’s Julian Weber. He has kept the German flag flying in the injury-forced absence of Vetter and Thomas Rohler. Weber has been in the 86-87m range and has a personal best of 89.54. All six throwers in the final have achieved their personal best this year, but only Weber, Vadlejch and Chopra have thrown over 89 metres.

Chopra qualified for the Diamond League final in 2017 and 2018 too and finished seventh and fourth respectively. Four years ago, he narrowly missed out on a third-place finish to Rohler. Chopra has improved by leaps and bounds since.

Since the gold at the Tokyo Olympics, he has finished in the top three in six competitions. Three times, he has thrown over 89 metres. He made a comeback after a long layoff post the Olympics with a throw of 89.30 metres at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku. He achieved his first top-three finish in a Diamond League with 89.94m, a new national record, in Stockholm. In Lausanne, he once again got close to breaking the 90m barrier with 89.08 metres.

“Chopra’s strength is his consistency when it comes to throwing technique. Other athletes are inconsistent in technique, but Chopra is more consistent and consistency is a great base for a thrower,” his coach Klaus Bartonietz had said before the World Championships.

Chopra has allayed any fitness issues in Lausanne arising out of the groin injury suffered on way to winning silver at the World Championships. A Diamond League Trophy in his hands would be the perfect way to wind down another memorable season. Unless Vadlejch or Weber spring a surprise.