Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra's Paris Games preparations will be put through a stern test when he begins his season in the first leg of the prestigious Diamond League one-day meet series against a star-studded but familiar field, in Doha on Friday.
Chopra to begin season with Doha Diamond League on May 10, Jena also to compete for his DL debut
Defending champion Neeraj Chopra turned on the style as he stormed into the men's Javelin Throw final of the Olympic Games with a season's best effort of 89.34m in his very first attempt in the qualification round in Paris on Tuesday.
The first morning of the second Ashes Test at Lord's was interrupted when two Just Stop Oil protesters ran on to the ground and scattered orange powder on the outfield.
He has competed in just three events this year but the 26-year-old world champion is back in full flow in a season where none of his global competitors have done exceptionally well.
Uncapped leg spinner Ish Sodhi and all rounder Corey Anderson have been promoted from the New Zealand 'A' team to the full Test squad for a two Test series in Bangladesh in October.
Chopra's world-leading throw of 88.67m in his first attempt was never surpassed.
Steve Smith scored an unbeaten 85 to guide Australia to 339/5 as England wasted favourable bowling conditions on the first day of the second Ashes Test.
Nadeem clinched the gold medal with a stunning Olympic record throw of 92.97m while defending champion Chopra took the silver
The 25-year-old Chopra rose to world number two on August 30 last year but was stuck behind Peters since then.
Nursing a long-standing groin injury, Chopra claimed a silver in the Paris Olympics on August 8 with a 89.45m throw
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Sunday
Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra finished second at the Doha Diamond League meeting javelin throw event as his big final effort of 88.36m fell short by two centimetres of Jakub Vadlejch's winning effort in Doha on Friday.
Neeraj Chopra hoped to compete with other prominent international names in India
All eyes will be on star India batter Virat Kohli, who is perhaps battling the biggest form crisis of his career.
Chopra had claimed the silver at this event in 2022.
Former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine reckons England lack the depth to go toe to toe with Pat Cummins and Co in the ongoing Ashes series.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Tuesday
Tongue is the only change to the side that lost the first Ashes Test
Avinash Sable broke his own 3000m steeplechase national record while finishing sixth at the Diamond League meet in Paris.
Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Sunday clarified that he is not injured but has pulled out of the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in Czech Republic on May 28 as a precautionary measure after he felt "something" on his adductor muscles during a recent training session.
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 11, Tuesday, August 6, 2024:
Neeraj Chopra's broad shoulders will carry a weight of massive expectations
England captain Ben Stokes' swashbuckling 155 was in vain as Australia won the second Ashes Test at Lord's by 43 runs on an extraordinary final day on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series.
Olympics is a high-stakes and high-pressure situation and anything can happen. Guessing a medal on the basis of statistics is difficult, says Neeraj Chopra's coach Klaus Bartonietz.
Scoop seems like they conclude he is but Vaihayasi Pande Daniel recommends that you watch the film to find out for yourselves.
Neeraj has won gold medals in Olympics (Tokyo in 2021), Asian Games (2018) and Commonwealth Games (2018), besides becoming the Diamond League champion last year.
Neeraj Chopra beat a star-studded field with a best throw of 88.67m to begin his season in style.
Images from Day 2 of the second Ashes between England and Australia at Lord's in London on Thursday.
Newly-crowned world champion Neeraj Chopra will look to maintain his unbeaten streak in the prestigious Diamond League meet when he competes in a star-studded men's javelin throw field in Zurich on Thursday.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will begin the season at the Doha Diamond League.
Olympic champion Neeraj admitted that his comeback from outside the medal position midway into World Athletics javelin throw final was 'challenging, but he knew that a good throw was around the corner.
If Chopra holds the trophy and pockets the US$30,000 prize money at the Prefontaine Classic, he will become only the third man to defend the DL overall title, though the format changed in 2017.
Chopra had set a new national record of 89.94m, just 6cm shy of the 90m mark, the gold standard in the world of javelin throw, at the prestigious Diamond League in Stockholm last month en route to a silver medal.
'I thought I could throw even over 90m today. But it is okay as I have more competitions coming this year'
American duo Gabby Thomas and Noah Lyles took impressive 200 metres victories and two men posted monster, wind-assisted 90 metre javelin throws as the Diamond League season got underway on a lively night in front of a noisy crowd in Doha on Friday.
Lyon surprised virtually everyone in the ground when he hobbled out to bat at number 11
Sreeshankar was expected to at least qualify for the final round but form deserted him when it mattered the most on Wednesday.
Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra expects to breach the coveted 90m mark this year but doesn't want to think about "distance" going into the World Athletics Championships, in Eugene, United States.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra clinched his first top podium finish of the season by winning the javelin throw event at the Kuortane Games in Finland, beating reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada for the second time in four days, on Saturday.
