Neeraj Chopra and Avinash Sable set to compete in Brussels Diamond League Final

BRUSSELS: The Brussels Diamond League Final 2024 is set to feature India's two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and steeplechaser Avinash Sable. The events will take place in Belgium, starting on Friday. Avinash Sable will compete in the 3000m steeplechase, with his event scheduled for 12:39 AM IST on September 14 as per Olympics.com.

Meanwhile, Neeraj Chopra will participate in the javelin throw event, which is set to begin at 1:52 AM IST on September 15. This marks the first time that two Indian athletes have qualified for a Diamond League Final. Neeraj Chopra has had a successful history in the Diamond League, winning the Final in 2022 and securing second place in 2023.

In the 2024 season, Chopra accumulated 14 points over two meets, finishing fourth in the overall standings. He placed second in both the Doha leg in May and the Lausanne event last month. Grenada's Anderson Peters topped the javelin standings with 29 points, followed by Germany's Julian Webber with 21 points, and the defending champion, Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia, who finished third with 16 points.

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, the gold medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, only competed once in the Diamond League this year and did not qualify for the Brussels final. Avinash Sable finished 14th in the Diamond League standings for the 3000m steeplechase, with three points from two meetings.

Despite this, he secured a spot in the top 12 due to four higher-ranked athletes being ruled out of the tournament. Sable set a national record time of 8:09.91 in the Paris leg of the Diamond League in July, where he finished sixth, and he was 14th in the Silesia leg in August.

The competition in Brussels will be competitive, with notable athletes like Soufiane Bakkali from Morocco, a two-time Olympic champion, and Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot, a bronze medallist at Paris 2024, also competing in the 3000m steeplechase.