Neeraj Chopra finishes second in Lausanne Diamond League with season's best 89.49m throw

India's ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished 2nd at the Lausanne Diamond League event in Switzerland. He achieved his season-best throw of 89.49 meters during the competition. As per Olympics.com, Chopra missed the 90m mark by just 51cm.

In the competition, Anderson Peters of Grenada claimed the first place with a remarkable throw of 90.61 meters, setting a new record. Germany's Julian Weber took third place with a throw of 87.08 meters. Peters had previously won bronze at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Neeraj Chopra says ‘It was a tough start, but…’

After the event, he said, “The feeling wasn't great at first, but I´m happy with my throw, especially the second (career) best throw on my last attempt. It was a tough start, but the comeback was really nice and I enjoyed the fighting spirit I showed. Even though my early throws were around 80-83m, I pushed hard in the last two attempts finishing strong. Competing at this high level, it's important to stay mentally tough and fight through.”

After securing this second place in the Lausanne event, Neeraj currently holds the third position in the overall rankings. This puts him in a favorable position to qualify for the Diamond League Final which is scheduled to take place in Brussels in September. Neeraj made history in 2022 by becoming the first Indian athlete to win the Diamond League title, and he followed that achievement with a silver medal last year.

Neeraj Chopra's silver in Paris Olympics 2024

Neeraj Chopra secured secured silver medal for India in the men's javelin throw at the Paris Olympics on August 7 with a best throw of 89.45 meters. Chopra fell short of retaining his gold medal in the men's javelin throw, but the night belonged to Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who secured Pakistan's first Olympics gold medal since 1984 with a record of 92.97m. Chopra also became the second male athlete to win two Olympic medals in an individual event. Till now, only wrestler Sushil Kumar (2008 and 2012) and shuttler PV Sindhu (2016 and 2021) have won back-to-back Olympic medals.

(With inputs from agencies)