Monaco Diamond League 2023: 22-year-old Praveen Chithravel finishes sixth in the men's triple jump event

National record holder triple jumper Praveen Chithravel finished sixth in his maiden Monaco Diamond League 2023 athletics meet in the French principality on Saturday. Chithravel, whose national mark is 17.37m, could only manage a best jump of 16.59m which came in the fifth round on Friday.

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This was Chithravel's worst show of the Monaco Diamond League 2023 season. He had registered jumps above 17m in all three events - 17.07m, 17.17m and 17.37m - at the start of this season. Chithravel failed to clear the 17m mark for the first time in four outdoor events this year. India's triple jumper was competing again after being absent for almost a month due to injury.

Earlier, Chithravel set a triple jump national record of 17.37m in Cuba in May, meeting the qualifying standard for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August. The result in Monaco Diamond League 2023 earned Chithravel three qualification ranking points for the Diamond League Finals in 2023. He is currently ranked 12th ahead of his fellow countryman Abdulla Aboobacker, who participated in the Florence Diamond League.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso's Hugues Fabrice Zango won the Monaco Diamond League 2023 competition with a final round jump of 17.70m. While Jaydon Hibbert of Jamaica (17.66m) and Yasser Triki of Algeria (17.32m) finished second and third respectively.

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For participating in each Diamond League stage, athletes receive points instead of medals. At the conclusion of all stages, the best eight competitors in each event will advance to the Diamond League Finals. They will compete for the championship medal in the final. The Monaco Diamond League 2023, also known as the Hercules EBS, was the ninth stage of the Diamond League 2023 season. The series will conclude with a two-day final in Eugene, USA on 16 and 17 September.