India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra is set to return to action to be battle-hardened for the Paris Olympics.
Neeraj will be in action alongside his compatriot Kishore Jena at the Diamond League in Doha on Friday (May 10). Both athletes will be in action together for the first time since their participation in the Hangzhou Asian Games in October 2023.
Neeraj won the gold at the event with an impressive throw of 88.88m whereas Jena bagged the silver with 87.45m.
Notably, Neeraj is set to face serious competition from Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic. The athlete from the Czech Republic managed to win the Diamond League title last year as he defeated Neeraj in the final in Eugene.
While Neeraj will be eager to outperform Vadlejch this time around, he has also set his sights on breaching the 90m mark.
The celebrated Indian athlete has managed a personal best of 89.94m (a record he set at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022) and has made it absolutely clear that he wants to break past the 90m barrier.
While there isn't a medal left in the sport that Neeraj has not clinched yet, the 26-year-old athlete is looking to push his limits harder than ever before.
"Since I threw 88.06m at the 2018 Asian Games, people have been asking me when I will break the 90m-mark," Neeraj Chopra said in the pre-event press conference. "A lot has happened since then, including my elbow injury. I have been stuck between 88 and 90m but I really want to break the 90m barrier.
"Doha is famous for 90m throws but I wasn't lucky to do it last year because of the headwinds. Maybe tomorrow it'll be good," he added.
The javelin throw starts at 10:12 pm IST which is 7:42 pm local time on Friday.
Where to watch the Doha Diamond League 2024 on TV in India?
The Doha Diamond League 2024 will be aired live on the Sports18 3 and Sports18 1 HD TV channels in India for the viewers.
Where to watch the Doha Diamond League 2024 event online in India?
The Doha Diamond League 2024 event will be streamed live on the JioCinema app and website for viewers in India.
