Neeraj Chopra finishes second in Diamond League Finals, Weber wins maiden trophy
Zurich(PTI): Two-time Olympic medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished runner-up in the Diamond League Finals for the third time in a row as Julian Weber of Germany lifted his maiden trophy with two 90m-plus throws in a commanding show here on Thursday.
Chopra was lying third till the fifth round following his opening throw of 84.35m before his final effort of 85.01m took him to the second spot, overtaking 2012 London Olympics gold winner Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago who ended third with 84.95m.
Weber achieved a season world leading throw of 91.57m, his personal best, in his second attempt. He began with 91.37m effort, and after that it was a one-man show in the seven-man field.
None of Weber's rivals could even come near his mark, as his best effort of the day was over 6m more than that of Chopra. The German had a foul, 83.66m, 86.45m and 88.66m after his second throw.
Clearly, Chopra was not at his best in the season's Diamond League grand finale. He had three legal throws out of the six attempts.
Known for his consistency in producing 88m-plus throws, it was a rare instance of the 27-year-old Indian star just being able to touch the 85m mark.
He was hoping to regain the trophy he had won in 2022, but ended up finishing second for the third time after 2023 and 2024.
Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was fourth with 82.06m.
Chopra was not his usual self as he began with 84.35m and then followed it up with 82m and a foul. He was at third spot at the halfway stage, and he fouled his fourth and fifth attempts before coming up with a 85.01m effort in his last throw.
"This was not too bad. But we are getting very close to the world championships, so I still need to throw a little bit further. There were a few things that went well, but still, there were the things which did not go that well," Chopra said after the event.
"In the last attempt, I still managed to throw 85. But I am very happy for Julian today - he managed to throw really far, and to show 91m was really good. We will see in three weeks.
"I still need to train a little bit. In this sport, we do not know. It depends on the day."
Chopra said everything "will be different" in Tokyo during the World Championships (September 13-21).
"Julian, he is a good friend of mine and I am always happy when he is doing well and we push each other. There will be some friends from India coming to cheer for me in Tokyo.
"I have some friends who live there. At major championships, the gold is more important than the far throws. So I will try my best to win the medal."
Weber's effort was also his third 90m-plus throw of the season as well as his career. He had breached the coveted 90m mark with a 91.06m throw while winning the Doha DL title on May 16.
Chopra also breached the 90m mark for the first time in Doha with a throw of 90.23m but finished second behind Weber.
Chopra will now head to Tokyo for next month's World Championships as the defending champion.
Weber 3-1 against Chopra in head-to-head this season.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
