On Friday, the Qatar Sports Club in Doha will host the inaugural game of the 2023 Wanda Diamond League. Neeraj Chopra, the first Indian to win a Diamond Trophy and the first Indian to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field, will compete in one of the most renowned sporting competitions.
Eldhose Paul, the triple jump champion from the Commonwealth Games, will compete at the Doha meet against Pedro Pichardo, the current Olympic champion from Portugal, and Andy Diaz Hernandez, the current Diamond League champion from Cuba. The 2023 Wanda Diamond League will be shown live on Jio Cinema and Sports18. Chopra will compete for the first time since his stunning 88.44-meter throw in Zurich, which won him the 2022 Diamond Trophy. The season-opening encounter will include a cast of opponents acquainted to his championship defence.
Reigning world champion and 2022 Doha meet winner Anderson Peters from Grenada (PB: 93.07m), Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch from the Czech Republic (PB: 90.88m), European champion Julian Weber from Germany (PB: 89.54m), and former Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago (PB: 90.16m) will be Chopra’s biggest competitors this season.
The Diamond League is track and field’s most prestigious series, sitting in the top tier of World Athletics’ one-day meeting competitions. The 2023 Diamond League comprises 13 meetings, starting with the Doha event leading up to the two-day Diamond League Final in Eugene on September 16–17.
Apart from Chopra, several other Olympic and World champions will be part of the season opener in Doha. The women’s 100m will feature five-time Olympic medalist Shericka Jackson from Jamaica, former 200m world champion Dina Asher-Smith from Great Britain, and a talented American quartet featuring Melissa Jefferson, Abby Steiner, Twanisha Terry, and Sha’Carri Richardson.
The 200-metre men’s race will feature reigning Olympic 200-metre champion Andre De Grasse from Canada, 400-metre world champion Michael Norman from the USA, 100-metre world champion and Olympic silver medallist Fred Kerley from the USA, and Olympic and world 200-metre silver medallist Kenny Bednarek from the USA in a competitive field.