Neeraj Chopra is not the one to bask in the past glory. Soon after claiming the silver medal in the Paris Olympics 2024 men's javelin throw event, the reigning world champion started training in Magglingen, Switzerland. (More Sports News)
And on Saturday, August 17, the Indian superstar confirmed that he will compete at the Lausanne Diamond League, scheduled for August 22.
Chopra, 26, settled for a second-place finish at the Paris Games behind Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem. In the high-profile Stade de France final on 8 August, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist could conjure up only one valid throw, in his second attempt for 89.45m -- a distance good enough for the silver medal.
His 'good friend' Nadeem breached the 90m mark twice to not only win a historic gold medal for Pakistan but also create a new Olympic record. His 92.97m throw in the second attempt broke Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen's record of 90.57m at the 2008 Beijing Games.
The 27-year-old from Punjab province thus became the first Pakistani track and field athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
For the record, his 91.79m in the final attempt also eclipsed the Asian record mark of 91.36m, set by Chinese Taipei's Cheng Chao-tsun at the 2017 Summer Universiade.
"Nadeem is a very hardworking player and competing against him is always full of positivity and that day too I was quite sure that we would have a good fight," said Chopra in a virtual press conference. "The plan is now to compete in Lausanne Diamond League on August 22 as I am feeling good with my injury management."
For Neeraj Chopra, the Lausanne stop will present a golden chance the assuage the pain of missing out on back-to-back Olympic gold medals.
He nonetheless became only the third Indian to win back-to-back Olympic medals after wrestler Sushil Kumar (bronze and silver in the 2008 and 2012 Games, respectively) and badminton star PV Sindhu, who claimed silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021.
A good showing in Lausanne will consolidate his place as one of the top-six throwers in the calendar and help him qualify for the season finale.
As things stand now, Chopra occupies fourth place in the 2024 Diamond League men's javelin throw rankings with seven points, behind Jakub Vadlejch (14 points) of Czech Republic, Anderson Peters (13) of Grenada and Julian Weber (8) of Germany.
Andrian Mardare of Moldova, also with seven points, is fifth ahead of Arshad Nadeem and Oliver Helander of Finland, both with five points each. The world's top six qualify for the 2024 Diamond League season finale.
Chopra is also likely to compete at the Zurich Diamond League, scheduled for September 5 -- the last stop for male javelin throwers before the Brussels finale in September mid-week.
Last September, Chopra finished second in the 2023 Diamond League finale in Eugene, Oregon behind Vadlejch, who claimed a third season-ending title following triumphs in 2016 and 2017.
"I will be back in India by the end of September as after the Brussels Diamond League Finals on September 14, the athletics season will be over," he added. "I will have all the time to go home or get my injury treated and get the surgery done if needed."
Before the end of the season, another Chopra vs Nadeem showdown can be expected. As of now, there's no word of the Pakistani gold medallist competing in the Brussels meet but he would be more than eager to cement Olympic legacy with a Diamond League crown.
