Neeraj Chopra to Skip Doha Diamond League for First Time in Four Years

Neeraj Chopra's Absence from Doha Diamond League

New Delhi, June 13: Neeraj Chopra, India's Olympic gold medalist and former world champion in javelin throw, will not participate in the upcoming Doha Diamond League, marking the first occasion in four years that he will miss this event.

According to reports from Olympics.com, the entry list for the Doha Diamond League, scheduled for June 19, does not include the two-time Olympic medalist. This is particularly notable as it is the same venue where he achieved a historic 90-meter throw last year.

In the 2023 Doha Diamond League, Neeraj secured victory with a throw of 88.67 meters, while in the previous season, he finished second with a throw of 88.36 meters. Last year, he set a personal and national record with a throw of 90.23 meters, although he ended up as the runner-up to Germany's Julian Weber, who recorded a throw of 91.06 meters.

Neeraj's decision to skip the event aligns with his current focus on a 47-day off-season training camp in Switzerland. This training is crucial as he prepares for a busy season ahead, which includes significant competitions like the Commonwealth Games (July 23-August 2) and the Asian Games (September 19 to October 4). His training camp at the Olympic Training Centre in Bienne is set to conclude on July 10.

Last season concluded on a disappointing note for Neeraj, as he was unable to defend his world title at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, finishing in eighth place due to injuries that affected his performance. He has yet to kick off his 2026 season.

Despite Neeraj's absence, the Doha Diamond League will still showcase numerous talented athletes, including Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage, who recently achieved a season-best throw of 92.62 meters at the Rome Diamond League. Pathirage's performance ranks as the second-best javelin throw by an Asian, following Arshad Nadeem's 92.97 meters at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The event will also feature prominent figures such as current world champion Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago, along with former champions Anderson Peters from Grenada and Julius Yego from Kenya. Additionally, USA's Pan American Games gold medalist Curtis Thompson and Czechia's Jakub Vadlejch, a silver medalist at both the Olympics and world championships, will compete in Doha.

The Doha meet is the seventh stop in the 2026 Diamond League season, with the series finale scheduled for September 4-5 in Brussels.