Doha: Five things to look out for

Back in 2022, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian athlete in history to win the Wanda Diamond League title. Having lost his crown to Czech rival Jakub Vadlejch last season, Chopra will be chomping at the bit when he returns to Diamond League action this week. With the Indian star also hoping to defend his Olympic title in 2024, Doha will not just be his first step on the Road to the Final, but also his first competition of the season per se. Happily, he has good memories of the Qatari capital, having taken victory with a world lead of 88.67m at the Doha Diamond League last May. 

British sprinter Daryll Neita delivered one of the standout performances of the Wanda Diamond League Suzhou last month, clocking a season's best of 22.62 in the women's 200m to see off the likes of Mujinga Kambundji, Tamara Clark and world champion Sha'Carri Richardson. Neita returns to action in the 100m in Doha, where she will go up against the likes of the USA's Tamari Davis, Jamaica's Natasha Morrison and compatriot Amy Hunt. Having previously only ever won once on the Diamond League circuit - in Stockholm in the 200m last season - the British star now has the opportunity to make it two wins in two. 

As always, the Kenyan fans are expected to be out in force once again at the Qatar Sports Club this weekend, and as in previous years, they will have plenty of home stars to cheer on in the middle and long distance events. Chief among them is 1500m legend Timothy Cheruiyot, who is hoping to rekindle some of the form which saw him dominate the Diamond League for years on end and claim the world title in Doha back in 2019. With four Diamond Trophies to his name, Cheruiyot is one of the most successful athletes in the series' history, yet he has fallen off the pace in recent years, and has not won a Diamond League competition since his last title win in 2021. In Doha, he will be hoping to buck that trend and claim an elusive 22nd career Diamond League win. 

Another Kenyan star who will get the Qatar Sports Club crowd chanting is 800m world champion Mary Moraa, who will compete at the Doha Diamond League for the very first time this Friday. Prior to her 2023 world title, Moraa also cruised to the Diamond League title in 2023, claiming victories in Rabat and Stockholm en route to her final triumph in Zurich. In Doha, she will face a tough field which includes Ethiopian rival Habitam Alemu and recently crowned Britain's Jemma Reekie, who recently claimed silver on Scottish home soil at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. 

Like Chopra, Bahamian 400m star Steven Gardiner also heads into this season knowing that his Olympic title is on the line, and he too will be hoping to begin with a bang in Doha. After early-season victories in  Louisiana and Florida, Gardiner hits the elite Diamond League stage in fine fettle, and will be hoping to pick up a ninth career win on the circuit on Friday. He too has plenty of good memories from the city, having taken Diamond League wins at the Qatar Sports Club in 2017 and 2018 and the world title at the Khalifa International Stadium in 2024.