India's Neeraj Chopra came ever so close of winning the Diamond League 2024 final as he finished second, falling short by 1cm to Grenada's Anderson Peters who won the men’s javelin throw event at the the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on Sunday. (Highlights | More Sports News)
The 26-year-old Chopra, who had won the Diamond League trophy in 2022 before finishing second last year, achieved his best throw of the day in his third attempt but that was 1cm short of eventual winner Anderson Peters' 87.87m effort.
Grenada's Peters, a two-time world champion, produced his best of the day in his opening attempt and led the field right from the starting. Julian Weber of Germany finished third with a best of 85.97m.
The Indian javelin throw superstar, who has a personal best of 89.94m and season's best of 89.49m, had a series of 86.82m, 83.49m, 87.86m, 82.04m, 83.30m and 86.46m on Sunday.
Chopra, who added a silver to his Olympic medal tally in Paris following a historic gold in the Tokyo Games, thus ended his season on a high.
The top three led the seven-man field in the same order for the whole competition.
Peters will collect a Diamond League trophy and USD 30,000 for emerging as the DL champion this season.
Chopra will pocket USD 12,000 for his second-place finish in the grand finale which marked the end of the prestigious Diamond League series after 14 legs, as well as the end of international athletics season.
The Haryana lad remained consistent throughout the season, though he won just one international event this season -- Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on June 18.
He had made the cut for the Diamond League final after finishing fourth in the overall standings with 14 points from his two second-place finishes in DL one-day meets in Doha and Lausanne on May 10 and August 22.
Chopra has been struggling with his fitness this season and is expected to meet a doctor to rectify a groin injury that has affected him all season and came in the way of his quest to hit the 90m mark.
(with PTI inputs)
