NEW DELHI: Neeraj Chopra is a lone wolf who believes in hunting, not being hunted down. He broke the hegemony of the Europeans in the men’s javelin throw competition with a historic Olympic gold in Tokyo last year. He took a 10-month sabbatical, then returned to serve a timely reminder to the Germans, the Czechs and the Finns of what lies ahead, as he opened his athletics season with a huge throw of 89.30m at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland in June.
On late Thursday night, five competitions after that Finland meet, Neeraj got another historic first when he launched his spear to dizzying heights of 88.44m at an overcast Letzigrund stadium in Zurich to become the first Indian-ever to win the Diamond League Trophy. It was his third appearance in the Finals. In the absence of double world champion Anderson Peters, who suffered injuries during an attack on a party boat in his home country Grenada, Johannes Vetter and Thomas Rohler – both sidelined by injuries – Neeraj put his competitors in the shade with a memorable performance worthy of an Olympic champion.
