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Journalism of Courage
One centimetre. In the end, that was all that separated Neeraj Chopra and Grenada’s Anderson Peters. On a cold night in Brussels, it was an equally cold way to miss out on a second Diamond League Final title.
The Grenadian started the night with an 87.87m throw, which was eventually enough to seal the win. Neeraj, however, came within the smallest measurable distance. With his third throw of the spear, the Indian managed 87.86m to get within 0.01m of Peters and finished the season in second place.
It also summed up the kind of year the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist has had. After all, 2024 started with Neeraj finishing second at the Doha Diamond League meet by 2 centimetres. The season tested Neeraj’s abilities to the fullest.
And yet, sample this for a return: One Olympic Games silver medal, a runner-up finish in athletics’ most important international event apart from Paris, three throws beyond 89m for his career’s second, third, and fifth-best marks. All while nursing an injury.
On Sunday, Neeraj revealed that he competed in Brussels with a fractured fourth metacarpal in his left hand, an injury he suffered in training earlier in the week. “This was the last competition of the year, and I wanted to end my season on the track. While I couldn’t meet my own expectations, I feel this was a season in which I learned a lot. I am now determined to return, fully fit and ready to go,” he said in a social media post, about another ‘painful challenge’.
By the yardstick of any elite athlete, it has been a successful season. But, just like that night at the Stade de France in Paris, Neeraj’s reactions at the King Baudouin Stadium on Saturday night gave out vibes of a man searching for something elusive.
The Diamond League finale was an event of two halves for Neeraj. Two of his best throws of the night came in the first half. And the common factor between those was that Neeraj was standing upright at the end of his follow-through. The left leg’s blocking action seemed consciously pronounced as he tried to avoid falling over to his left. The third throw, especially, is likely to be the template for the future. Nice easy pace on the runway, straighter, unbent left leg at the point of release, and finishing just inside the white line. The result was 87.86m.
But with each of his last three throws, Neeraj once again reverted to the style that one has seen in the past. As he tried to find that little bit extra – a couple of centimetres, literally – he leaned to the left side and overbalanced, falling over after releasing the spear.
“Right now, his throws aren’t right technically,” Neeraj’s physio Ishaan Marwaha had told The Indian Express after the Lausanne Diamond League event. “When he throws, he falls towards the left and so, the javelin also travels towards the left. He falls because the block leg isn’t straight when he is releasing, it bends. So, he is not able to put all his force into the javelin.”
Conditions on the night didn’t lend themselves to big throws either. All the throwers made their way to the playing area in full winter gear. “It was rather cold tonight and in the warming-up area, there was no track, only grass. When we come to the stadium, the track is rather hard and the difference is big, so that made it a little difficult for us javelin throwers,” third-placed Julian Weber said after the event.
After his sixth throw, Neeraj fell again but got up with a roar. Now, that is a familiar sight. He seemed to like what he managed with the last competitive release of javelin in 2024. But it wasn’t quite enough. After exchanging some notes with his coach Klaus Bartonietz, the customary embraces followed with his opponents as the season wound down. And finally, there was a hint of a smile as the Indian star posed for a few customary selfies with fans.
Back in September 2022, Neeraj won the Diamond Trophy (the prize that winners of the Diamond League Final get) and said afterward in Zurich that he finally truly felt like a big part of global athletics. Tokyo happened in front of empty stands, and while Neeraj was already no stranger to winning, to see himself as one of the centres of attraction at a proper global athletics-only event, felt special. And he seemed to be revelling in it, enjoying the occasion.
Starting from Paris though, Neeraj has been throwing like he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. As he steps away from the bright lights of the world’s biggest stages for a quieter off-season, he will begin the process to return to peak physical fitness.
That is vital for the Indian to achieve his ultimate goal in his chosen field. “I feel there is a better throw left in me. Until I get that, shanti nahi mil paegi (I won’t be at peace),” he had said after the silver at the Olympics. Perhaps that bigger throw might come with that peace.
On Friday night, national record holder 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable finished ninth in Brussels. Sable, who turned 30 on Friday, clocked 8 minute and 17.09 seconds to finish second-last in the 10-man field in his debut DL final. Amos Serem of Kenya emerged as the Diamond League champion in a time of 8:06.90, while reigning Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali (8:08.60) of Morocco was second.
