Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra scripts another history, becomes Diamond League champion
Zurich(PTI): Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday achieved yet another historic feat as he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League Finals title here.
Chopra began with a foul but jumped to the top spot with a throw of 88.44m -- his fourth career best -- in his second attempt, and that turned out to be his winning effort. He had 88.00m, 86.11m, 87.00m and 83.60m in his next four throws.
Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic finished second with a best throw of 86.94m which he registered in his fourth attempt. Julian Weber of Germany was third with a best of 83.73m.
The 24-year-old Indian superstar is now the Olympic champion, World Championships silver medallist and Diamond League champion. All these he had achieved in just 13 months. He had won the Olympic gold on August 7 last year in Tokyo.
He has produced 88m-plus throw six times this season which showed his consistency. He holds the national record of 89.94m, which he achieved this season.
Chopra also ended his international season with a history-scripting performance. The Diamond League Finals can be considered as the most prestigious competition outside of Olympics and World Championships.
It was Chopra's third appearance in the Diamond League Finals. He had finished seventh and fourth respectively in 2017 and 2018.
Chopra was also awarded a Diamond Trophy, USD 30,000 prize money and a wild card for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
He, however, has already qualified for the World Championships as his Lausanne-leg winning throw breached the 85.20m qualifying mark.
The Diamond League encompasses 32 Diamond Disciplines, following a championship style model. Athletes earn points at the 13-series meet to qualify for the final of their respective disciplines.
Chopra had made a spectacular return from a one-month injury lay-off by winning the Lausanne-leg of the Diamond League series on August 26 and qualifying for the Finals here.
He had become the first Indian to clinch a Diamond League meet title in Lausanne with his third career-best throw of 89.08m.
He had missed the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (July 28 to August 8) due to a minor groin injury he had suffered during his silver-winning performance in the World Championships in USA in July.
The six-man field in Zurich was without world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who is recovering from injuries after he was assaulted inside a boat in his country last month.
With Thursday's win, Chopra has beaten the 31-year-old Vadlejch for the fifth time since winning gold in Tokyo Olympic Games in August last year.
Vadlejch was sixth and fourth when Chopra finished second in Paavo Nurmi Games (June 14) and Stockholm Diamond League (June 30).
While Chopra won silver in World Championships in Eugene, Vadlejch clinched a bronze before the pair again clashed in Lausanne on August 26.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
