Neeraj Chopra’s opponents at Diamond League Final: Is Arshad Nadeem playing?

India’s star athlete Neeraj Chopra will be in action at the Diamond League Final 2024 in Brussels, Belgium, on September 14. In the event, two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj will face off against world-class javelin throwers such as Anderson Peters, Julian Weber, and Jakub Vadljech.

However, Pakistani athlete Arshad Nadeem, who recently clinched the Paris Olympics 2024 gold medal at the expense of Neeraj Chopra with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m, will not be competing against his cross-border rival in the Diamond League Final 2024.

Arshad Nadeem failed to secure his qualification to the Diamond League Final 2024 after finishing in eighth place in the overall rankings list with just five points to his name. Arshad had competed in just the Paris Diamond League meet in July, where he earned his sole five points.

Since only the top six in the final standings qualify for the final round, Arshad Nadeem will not get a chance to compete against Neeraj Chopra in the Diamond League Final 2024.

The reasons behind Arshad Nadeem skipping the Lausanne and Zurich legs of the Diamond League were not disclosed by his team, but reports suggested that the Pakistani athlete might be suffering from a slight injury or might be busy dealing with felicitations in his country after his historic Paris 2024 performance.

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Which athletes will compete against Neeraj Chopra at Diamond League Final?

While Arshad Nadeem has failed to qualify for the upcoming Diamond League Final, the event will be full of top talents in the men’s javelin throw, which will make it difficult for Neeraj Chopra to win the title.

The final standings list was topped by the Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medalist Anderson Peters of Grenada, and he will be brimming with confidence that he can overtake Neeraj in Brussels.

The event will also feature heavyweights such as World No. 2 Jakub Vadljech of Czechia, who will also have a chance of overtaking Neeraj in the world rankings with a fine performance at the Diamond League Final.

Former European champion Julian Weber of Germany will also compete in the event, as will Genki Dean of Japan and Paris 2024 Olympian Andrian Mardare of Moldova.