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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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
