New Delhi: Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will miss the Doha Diamond League, which is scheduled to be held on June 19, as he is still recovering
from a back injury in Switzerland. Chopra, who clinched gold and silver medals at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, respectively, started his Diamond League campaign in Doha last year and crossed the 90m mark.
The 28-year-old is currently in Switzerland, and preparing for this year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games with his long-time physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha and coach Jai Choudhary during a 47-day off-season training camp.
Several world’s best throwers, including Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, will compete at the Qatar Sports Club alongside Paris Olympics gold medallist Arshad Nadeem and reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott.
Pathirage threw a national record 92.62m to win the Diamond League meeting in Rome on June 4. The trio will be joined by several star players, including former two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Anderson Peters and world bronze medallist Curtis Thompson.
‘Competing against the world’s best athletes is a dream come true for me’: Sri Lanka’s Pathirage
Pathirage is the first Sri Lankan male javelin thrower to reach in the World Athletics Championships final, finishing seventh in 2025. He will compete in Doha for the first time. He said that competing against the world’s best athletes is a dream come true for him, and he’s incredibly excited to line up in Doha.
“I’m in a good place right now both physically and mentally and I’ve got big goals ahead. The conditions in Doha are great for javelin throwers and if everything falls into place we can expect to witness more incredible performances,” Pathirage said as quoted by PTI.
Former world champion and Olympic silver medallist Kenya’s Julius Yego, and the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who is a former Olympic and world silver medallist, complete the field.
The Mazzraty Doha Meeting is the seventh stop of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, which comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field across four different continents. It started in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 16 and will end with a single final across two days in Brussels on September 4-5.
(With inputs from PTI)
