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Olympic champion and 2022 Diamond League winner Neeraj Chopra is expected to begin his 2023 Diamond League campaign in Doha on May 5 in Qatar. World Athletics announced the disciplines for each of the 2023 series.
In September of this year, the 24-year-old Chopra became the first Indian athlete to win the Diamond League trophy. Chopra is currently training in England to prepare for the 2023 season and will certainly look ahead to retaining his Diamond League trophy.
Commonwealth long jump medalist Murali Sreeshankar also has plans to compete in a series of one-day premier track and field events next year.
“We should be competing in at least two or three Diamond League meetings in 2023,” Sreeshankar's father, S. Murali, said over the phone from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
Avinash Sable, Olympian and Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medalist in the 3000m steeplechase, will be the third elite Indian athlete to look ahead to the 2023 Diamond League. Like Sreeshankar, Sable also made his Diamond League debut in 2022.
The prestigious Diamond League series gives the world’s elite athletes the chance to compete in a series of meetings from May to September in 32 disciplines.
Each discipline will be staged at least four or up to eight times for the athletes to earn points on the road to the final scheduled meeting to be held in Eugene. The athletes with the most points in each discipline will qualify for the final, which will be held on US soil for the first time in Diamond League history.
India’s national record holder, Sreeshankar, could only compete in the 2022 Monaco Diamond League as there was an entry issue for other Diamond League meetings.
“His (Sreeshankar) global ranking in men’s long jump is sixth in 2022. Hence, next year there shouldn’t be an issue in getting entries in the series of Diamond League,” Sreeshanker's father said.
Upcoming 2023 Diamond League schedule
The Doha 2023 Diamond League in Qatar on May 5, the opening leg of the premier track and field event, will feature men’s javelin throw. Paris (June 9), Lausanne (June 30), Monaco (July 21), and Zurich (August 31) are the other meetings that will feature the men’s javelin event.
Sreeshankar's father said he will examine the 2023 Diamond League schedule announced on Wednesday and take a call.
“We started offseason training last week. We will chalk out plans shortly to check when and where to compete in 2023,” he added.
