Neeraj Chopra Shines with Season-Best Throw at Lausanne Diamond League
India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra achieved his season-best throw of 89.49 meters at the Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland. Despite a slow start, Neeraj secured second place behind Anderson Peters of Grenada, who set a new meet record with a 90.61m throw. Julian Weber of Germany finished third with an 87.08m throw.
Neeraj, a two-time Olympic medallist, began the event modestly, failing to breach the 85m mark on his first four attempts. He climbed to third place with an 85.58m throw on his penultimate attempt, earning an extra throw. Competing against Peters and Weber in the final round, Neeraj secured the second-best throw of his career.
Neeraj’s personal best remains the 89.94m throw achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022, which is also the national record in India. Reflecting on his performance, Neeraj said, “The feeling wasn’t great at first, but I’m happy with my throw, especially the second-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.”
Anderson Peters set a new meet record by breaking Keshorn Walcott’s 90.16m mark from 2015 in his final attempt, denying Neeraj the top spot. This is the second time this month that Neeraj has been edged out despite delivering a second-best career throw. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem set a new Olympic record with a 92.97m throw, once again denying Neeraj victory.
Following the second-place finish in Lausanne, Neeraj is currently third in the overall standings and is in a strong position to qualify for the Diamond League Final in Brussels in September. Neeraj became the first Indian athlete to win the Diamond League title in 2022 before settling for silver last year.
The Lausanne Diamond League meet was Neeraj’s fifth competition of the season. He has struggled with injury problems, primarily to his adductor, this season, which hindered his performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He had also pulled out of the Ostrava Golden Spike in May as a precautionary measure. The Brussels Diamond League Final will be his final event of the season.
Doubts Revealed
Neeraj Chopra -: Neeraj Chopra is a famous Indian athlete who competes in javelin throw. He won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Lausanne Diamond League -: The Lausanne Diamond League is a big athletics competition held in Lausanne, Switzerland. Athletes from around the world compete in different sports events here.
Javelin throw -: Javelin throw is a sport where athletes throw a long spear called a javelin as far as they can. The person who throws it the farthest wins.
Season-best throw -: A season-best throw means the best distance an athlete has thrown in that particular season or year.
Anderson Peters -: Anderson Peters is an athlete from Grenada who also competes in javelin throw. He set a new record at the Lausanne Diamond League with a throw of 90.61 meters.
Meet record -: A meet record is the best performance ever recorded in a particular event at a specific competition.
Overall standings -: Overall standings show the ranking of athletes based on their performances in multiple competitions throughout the season.
Diamond League Final -: The Diamond League Final is the last and most important competition of the Diamond League series, where the best athletes compete to win the overall title.
Brussels -: Brussels is the capital city of Belgium, where the Diamond League Final is held.
Injury challenges -: Injury challenges mean that Neeraj Chopra has had some injuries that made it difficult for him to compete, but he is still trying his best.
