Zurich Diamond League: Neeraj Chopra finishes second, qualifies for DL final

World Champion Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Zurich Diamond League with a best throw of 85.71m losing to Jakub Vadljech by just 15 centimeters in the men's javelin event of the Zurich Diamond League Meeting on Thursday.

The 25-year-old Chopra, also the reigning Olympic champion, produced three legal throws of 80.79m, 85.22m, and 85.71m while the remaining three were fouls

It was not a great start for the recently crowned World Champion as he started with a mere 80.79m in his first attempt which is not usually the case in his first throws.

Neeraj further fouled the next two throws as he was unable to find his rhythm to finish fifth after three throws. He roared back in the fourth throw with an 85.22m throw and then finished with 85.71m.

With this result, Neeraj has qualified for the Diamond League finals to be held on September 17 in Eugene, USA, with 23 points from three meets.

"I am happy for Jakub. I guess it was a close one and we should accept whatever the results are in a sport," said Neeraj about the close finish.

Talking about the throws today, Neeraj said "The competition was a little cold as everyone was fatigued from the World Championships. I didn't push much as it is important to be healthy.

Murali Sreeshankar finishes fifth

Coming on the back of a disappointing World Championships campaign, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar finished fifth in a competitive field.

Sreeshankar recorded a best jump of 7.99m in five attempts competing alongside the likes of World Champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, former World Champion Tajay Gayle, and Simon Ehammer.

In his first attempt, Sreeshankar came the closest to the 8m with a jump of 7.99m and was leading the field. Tentoglou came with an 8.04m jump to replace Sreeshankar.

Sreeshankar continued to come closer to the 8m mark with a 7.96m in his second attempt. He hit the 7.96m mark one more time and recorded another jump of 7.93m before finishing at the fifth position.

Murali also qualified for the Diamond League finals in Eugene with 14 points in three Diamond League meets.