The fifteenth meet of the 2024 Diamond League is set to take place on September 13 and September 14 at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. As the final edition of this year’s Diamond League, the Allianz Memorial Van Damme will see the world’s best athletes vying for one last chance to secure victory in their respective disciplines and leave a mark.

On Day 1, Indian 3000m steeplechase runner Avinash Sable will make his Diamond League final debut in Brussels. Currently ranked fourteenth in the standings for his discipline, Sable will compete against leading contenders such as Samuel Firewu (Ethiopia), Amos Serem (Kenya), Abraham Kibiwot (Kenya), and Getnet Wale (Ethiopia).

Day 2 will feature Paris 2024 silver medallist Neeraj Chopra, competing in the Javelin throw final. Chopra, who currently holds fourth place in the standings with 14 points from his performances in Doha and Lausanne, will face tough competition from Paris 2024 bronze medallist and points leader Anderson Peters (Grenada), as well as Germany’s Julian Weber, among others.

The Diamond League Final will feature some of the best athletes in the world, including multiple world record breakers like pole vaulter Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis (Sweden) and 400m hurdles star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400m hurdles; USA), along with Paris 2024 medallists such as long-distance runner Faith Kipyegon (Kenya), 200m sensation Letsile Tebogo (Botswana), long-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway), 100m runners Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) and Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia), among many others. The two-day event will be streamed live and exclusively on JioCinema, Sports18 – 1 HD, and Sports18 – 3.

Disciplines at Brussels 2024:

Day 1

Men: Long Jump, Pole Vault, Discus Throw, 100m, 110m Hurdles, 400m, 1500m, 3000m Steeplechase, 5000m

Women: Discus Throw, Shot Put, High Jump, Triple Jump, 100m, 400m, 800m

Day 2

Men: Triple Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, Javelin Throw, 200m, 400m Hurdles, 800m

Women: Javelin Throw, Pole Vault, Long Jump, 100m Hurdles, 200m, 400m Hurdles, 1500m, 3000m Steeplechase, 5000m.

File image of Avinash Sable© AFP

Navdeep Singh’s technique compared to Neeraj Chopra’s© X (Twitter)

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Monday congratulated the Indian contingent for their performance at the Paris Paralympics. The Indian contingent concluded its historic Paris Paralympics campaign with a total of 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals, the most by the country in the history of the competition. With this landmark campaign, India has surpassed their previously most-successful campaign at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which gave them 19 medals, including five golds, eight silvers, and six bronze medals.

Taking to his official X handle, Neeraj said that the whole nation is proud of the Indian contingent that participated at the Paris Paralympics.

“What a performance by #TeamIndia at the 2024 Paralympics. Congratulations to every participant and the entire support staff for giving their best and returning home with 29 medals! India is proud of you,” Neeraj wrote on X.

This record-haul also helped India cross the 50-medal mark in the history of the competition. A record of 84 para-athletes represented the tricolour from August 28 to Sunday in 12 disciplines, as compared to nine back in Tokyo 2020. India also participated in new sports at Paris: paracycling, para rowing, and blind judo.

India established several records and unlocked some new “firsts” at the Paralympic Games. Para-shooter Avani Lekhara became the first ever Indian woman to secure two Paralympic gold medals as she managed to defend her women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting title with a world record score of 249.7 points.

India recorded a one-two finish at a para-athletics competition for the first time, with Dharambir and Parnav Soorma clinching gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s club throw F51 event. This was among India’s first-ever medals in this sport. Dharambir also set an Asian record of 34.92 m.

India also found its first-ever archery champion across both the Olympics and Paralympics, with Harvinder Singh getting the gold in the gold medal clash of the individual recurve para-archery against Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek.

Indian javelin throw ace Sumit Antil became the first Indian male to defend their Paralympics title, making it back-to-back gold in F64 event with a stunning Paralympic record-breaking throw of 70.59 m. He broke his own previous record set during the Tokyo 2020 not once, but thrice.

File photo of Neeraj Chopra

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Lausanne Diamond League as he recovered in time to produce a season’s best effort of 89.49m in his last attempt on Thursday. The 26-year-old Chopra was at fourth spot till the fourth round before sending his spear to 85.58m in his fifth attempt. He saved the best for the last as his sixth and final attempt measured 89.49m, which was better than his performance in the Paris Olympics.

He was in danger of missing the sixth throw but his fifth round effort of 85.58m saved him. Only the top three after five rounds get their respective final attempts.

Two-time world champion and Paris Olympics bronze medallist Anderson Peters of Grenada won the event with his second round monster throw of 90.61m while Julian Weber of Germany took the third spot with 87.08m.

Nursing a long-standing groin injury, Chopra claimed a silver in the Paris Olympics on August 8 with an 89.45m throw, having won a historic gold in the Tokyo edition of the Games three years ago.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem had beaten Chopra for the gold in Paris with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m.

Peters, who had struggled to find his form last year, led the competition from beginning to end and he stamped his class with the 90m-plus throw in the last round. He has a personal best of 93.07m which he had produced in 2022.

With seven points from Thursday’s second-place finish, Chopra will be on joint third spot with Weber on Diamond League standings with 15 points. Peters jumped to top spot with 21 points.

Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who finished seventh (82.03m) on Thursday, is in second spot with 16 points.

On Saturday, Chopra had confirmed his participation at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, leaving a decision on a possible surgery after the end of the season.

Chopra was the Diamond League champion in 2022 and finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic in the winner-takes-all DL final in Eugene, USA, last year.

This season’s DL finals will be held in Brussels on September 14. He needs to finish in the top-six of the Diamond League meetings series standings to qualify for the season finale.

There is another DL meeting — in Zurich on September 5 — which has a men’s javelin throw event in its roster.

Chopra had won the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League in 2022 and 2023, but could not do so this time. In fact, Chopra is yet to win a DL meeting this year. He finished second behind Vadlejch in Doha on May 10.

Chopra has been managing his groin injury since winning the gold in the Budapest World Championships last year. 

Neeraj Chopra continues to rise. He is now a household name, boasting a gold and a silver medal in his Olympics career, giving him the best medal cabinet for an Indian athlete competing in individual events. Chopra’s meteoric rise is set to continue in 2024 and beyond, despite missing out on gold in Paris 2024. In fact, Neeraj Chopra’s brand endorsements portfolio is set to grow by 50% in the ongoing calendar year, as per a report by Moneycontrol.

Star Indian cricketers Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma expectedly lead the way in terms of sportspersons in India with the highest brand value. However, Neeraj, who already rubs shoulders in that regard with some of the high-profile cricketers, is set to exceed some more.

Neeraj presently endorses 21 brands across 24 different categories, according to the Moneycontrol report, which adds that Hardik Pandya has a portfolio of 20 brands.

The report says Chopra endorsement portfolio may reach 32-34 names by the 2024-end, more than several top cricketers.  

“Currently, we are talking to about six to eight brands to discuss endorsement,” said Divyanshu Singh, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of JSW Sports, the company that manages Chopra’s portfolio.

“We are seeing a jump in his brand value by close to 40 to 50 percent but he’s already got a very, strong foundation, which will only get better from here. His endorsement fee has seen a 40 to 50 percent jump. Until about last year, he was doing all his endorsements at about Rs 3 crore per year. Now that number would touch about Rs 4 to 4.5 crore per year, and that’s the kind of growth we are seeing,” Singh said.

Neeraj currently endorses brands like American sportswear company Under Armour, luxury watchmaker Omega, Gillette and Samsung among others.

Apart from Neeraj, badminton star PV Sindhu and recently retired football icon Sunil Chhetri rank in the upper echelons of Indian sportspersons who have a high brand value, but are not cricketers.

Neeraj was one of the favourites for a gold medal in javelin throw at the Paris Olympics 2024, having won gold in Tokyo 2020. However, Chopra’s 89.45m throw – although the second-best of his career – was only good enough for silver, as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem threw an Olympic record 92.97m to clinch gold.

Two weeks after winning his historic silver medal at the Paris Olympics, star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will resume action at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting on Thursday, seeking to reclaim the DL trophy at the season-ending finale next month. Nursing a long-standing groin injury, Chopra claimed a silver in the Paris Olympics on August 8 with a 89.45m throw, having won a historic gold in the Tokyo edition of the Games three years ago. The 26-year-old double Olympic medallist Indian on Saturday confirmed his participation at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, leaving a decision on a possible surgery after the end of the season.

Chopra was the Diamond League champion in 2022 and finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic in the winner-takes-all DL final in Eugene, USA, last year.

This season’s DL finals will be held in Brussels on September 14. He needs to finish in the top-six of the Diamond League meetings series standings to qualify for the season finale.

There is another DL meeting — in Zurich on September 5 — which has men’s javelin throw event in its roster.

He is currently at fourth spot with seven points he has garnered after finishing second behind Vadlejch in the Doha Diamond League on May 10.

After a busy couple of days post the Olympic final on August 8, Chopra started training in Switzerland and is determined to finish the season on a high despite being restricted by the injury.

“I came to Switzerland for training ahead of the Diamond League. Luckily, I did not aggravate my injury as I took extra care of that.

“I thought of continuing my season like most other athletes. There is one month to go until the season ends. I will go to the doctors in my free time,” he had said last week.

Chopra will be up against a top-class field in Lausanne with five of the top-six finishers in Paris Olympics final competing. Only Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who stunned the athletics world by winning the gold with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m, is missing.

Nadeem had finished fourth in the Paris Diamond League on July 7 with a throw of 84.21m. That was the only DL meeting — as well as the lone event apart from the Olympics — he had taken part this season. He is currently at sixth spot in the standings with five points.

Having pushed to the fourth spot with a throw of 88.50m in Paris after winning a silver in Tokyo, Vadlejch would be looking to maintain his form in his bid to defend the DL title.

Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who took the bronze in the Paris Olympics with 88.54m, has been on the ascendancy after a poor last season, and he is capable of pulling off big throws, having already gone past the 90m mark in his career.

Chopra has been the most consistent javelin thrower in the last couple of seasons, before Nadeem pulled off the heist in Paris, and the Indian will start as favourite in Lausanne on Thursday.

He has been managing his groin injury since winning the gold in the Budapest World Championships last year.

“The final treatment will be after the season ends. I will try to take care of it as much as possible and consult the doctors later,” he said. 

All eyes will be on javelin thrower Sumit Antil at the upcoming Paralympics in Paris. The Tokyo 2020 champion will be aiming to defend his title and Antil is taking a lot of inspiration from his able-bodied counterpart Neeraj Chopra, who won silver at the recently-concluded Paris Olympics. In a conversation with SAI Media, Antil, who will be one of the two flag-bearers of the 84-member Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympics from August 28 to September 8, said he is drawing inspiration from Chopra’s silver-wining effort at the Stade de France in Paris on August 8. 

The gold went to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who threw a massive 92.97m, an Olympic record. 

“Neeraj bhai’s 89.45m throw was a great effort. It was his season’s best and it came after he was carrying an injury. That says a lot about the man,” Antil said.

The burly javelin thrower from Haryana will be challenging himself at the Paralympics. At Tokyo, Antil broke the world record thrice and his final effort of 68.55 metres won him the gold medal in the F-64 category (athletes with problems in the lower limb(s), or those competing with prosthesis or those affected by leg length difference).

Confident about replicating the Tokyo performance, Antil, who has received a funding of INR 58.97 lakh from the Union sports ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), said Chopra has shared a simple piece of advice ahead of the Paris Paralympics. “Neeraj bhai says that I should not try anything new and just trust my preparation by staying cool and steady,” said Antil.

Despite the confidence, Antil says javelin can cause injuries anytime. Antil said he was carrying a back injury that he expected to heal before the competition at Paris began.

“We are very conscious about injuries this time. It does impact our throws. Right now I have a minor back injury and I don’t want that to impact my performance in Paris. Apart from that my preparation has been good and I will try to return with a good result,” said Antil.

  

Sumit Antil, Sonepat’s 26-year-old sports hero, lost his left leg in an accident in 2015. However, the support from his family and his resilience helped him overcome the tragedy. Throwing the javelin with a prosthetic left leg, Antil challenges himself every time he has taken part in a global competition. 

“I have become a lot more consistent than the time I competed in Tokyo Paralympics. This is because the expectations from everyone has increased multi-fold since my gold in Tokyo. Before that not many people knew about me. I have also become more disciplined than last time and it is reflecting in the way I am performing in recent events.”

Antil won back-to-back gold medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris (2023) and Kobe (2024). His quest for breaking records saw him register the biggest throw in F-64 class – 73.29 metre at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games 2023. But his ultimate target is to reach the 80m target.