Neeraj Chopra made his second-best throw ever at the Lausanne Diamond League and finished in second place, just behind Anderson Peters, who recorded a throw of 90.61m with his last attempt.
His throw at the League on Friday is now his second-best ever, surpassing the two throws he made at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, where he won a silver medal.
Neeraj Chopra delivered his two best throws of the night in a dramatic finish. After his first four attempts, he was in fourth place, trailing Ukraine’s Artur Felfner. Neeraj had not finished outside the top three since September 2018. However, with a throw of 85.58 meters, he secured a spot in the top three.
According to Diamond League rules, only the top three after five throws get an additional attempt.
After the event, Chopra 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,”
Despite dealing with a long-standing groin injury, Chopra secured a silver medal at the Paris Olympics on August 8 with an 89.45m throw. This follows his historic gold win at the Tokyo Olympics three years earlier.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the gold in Paris, surpassing Chopra with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m.
Peters, who had struggled with his form last year, dominated the competition from start to finish, sealing his performance with a 90m-plus throw in the final round. His personal best is 93.07m, achieved in 2022.
After earning seven points for his second-place finish on Thursday, Chopra is now tied for third place with Weber in the Diamond League standings, both having 15 points. Peters moved up to first place with 21 points.
On Saturday, Chopra confirmed that he would participate in the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, with a decision on potential surgery being postponed until the end of the season.
Chopra claimed the Diamond League title in 2022 but finished as the runner-up to Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic in the winner-takes-all Diamond League final held in Eugene, USA, last year.
This season’s Diamond League finals are scheduled for September 14 in Brussels. To qualify for the finale, he must place in the top six of the Diamond League series standings.
Chopra claimed victory in the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League in both 2022 and 2023, but was unable to replicate that success this year. In fact, he has yet to win a Diamond League event this season. On May 10, he finished second to Vadlejch in Doha.
