Fresh from his Commonwealth Games triumph, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will compete in the season-opening leg of the Diamond League series in Doha on May 4. Neeraj, who won a gold in the Gold Coast CWG with a throw of 86.47m, will be in the midst of a star-studded field with the reigning Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany and his country-mate and world champion Johannes Vetter taking part at the Qatar Sports Club. 2017 World Championship silver medallist and reigning Diamond League champion Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic and world bronze medallist and team-mate Petr Frydrych will also compete in Doha. However, just two months later, 2017 European Athlete of the Year, Vetter overtook Rohler to claim the second world all-time position after he threw 94.44m in Luzern. Last year, Neeraj had taken part in three legs of the Diamond League series and accumulated six points to end at eighth place in the overall rankings.

Source: Hindustan Times April 19, 2018 09:00 UTC