Neeraj Chopra to skip Brussels Diamond League

NEW DELHI: The current javelin throw world champion and Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra will skip the Brussels Diamond League, reported the Olympics.com on Wednesday.

The competition will take place in Belgium on Friday. With Neeraj having sealed his spot for the Zurich Diamond League final on August 27-28 with 15 points from his past two Diamond League appearances this season, Neeraj can take this time to freshen himself up for his world title defence.

The men’s javelin throw final, which will decide the 2025 Diamond League champion, will be held on August 28. Neeraj is a 2022 Diamond League champion and a runner-up in 2023 and 2024. He is yet to announce his participation for the final in Zurich, though.

Brussels meet would be the fourth and final Diamond League event scheduled for this year, with men’s javelin throw category in it. Neeraj has opted to skip this one, just like he opted out of the Silesia Diamond League earlier this month.

Neeraj finished runner-up in the 2024 Diamond League final with his best throw of 87.86 m, losing to Grenada’s Anderson Peters by barest of the margins of one centimetre. The Indian superstar has enjoyed a spectacular start to the 2025 season.

Chopra took the top honours in the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic, a competition named after him at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium in Bengaluru last month. The reigning javelin throw champion stood triumphant with 86.18m.

Neeraj kickstarted with a win at the Potch Invitational in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in April and followed it up with a very special second-place finish at Doha Diamond League, where he crossed the 90-metre mark for the first time ever, with a throw of 90.23 m.

He also went on to secure a second spot in the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland later that month and resumed his winning ways with back-to-back titles at Paris Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike this month, with best efforts of 88.16 m and 85.29 m. Most recently came his NC Classic triumph in front of his home crowd.

Neeraj will defend his world title in the World Athletics Championships scheduled for Tokyo from September 13-21. During the previous edition, Neeraj had finished ahead of Nadeem to win the gold, becoming the first-ever Indian to land a gold at the marquee event. (ANI)