Neeraj Chopra wins second straight Diamond League title in Lausanne

Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic champion, secured the highly regarded Diamond League title for the second consecutive time with a throw of 87.66m on Friday. However, he once again fell short of achieving the coveted 90m mark. Despite facing challenging conditions and returning from a one-month injury break, Chopra displayed his dominance in the prestigious One-day meet held in Lausanne.

Although his performance was not on par with his top-10 efforts, the 25-year-old Indian javelin thrower asserted his authority in the competition.

Previously, Chopra had missed three prominent events due to a muscle strain but triumphed in the season-opening Diamond League in Doha on May 5 with a career-best throw of 88.67m.

Despite typically performing at his best in the early rounds, Chopra had to wait until his fifth attempt to take the lead, as he remained in the second position until the end of the fourth round.

“I was feeling a bit nervous coming back from an injury. It was a bit cold here tonight. I am still far from my best, but I feel it is getting better,” Chopra said after his win.

It was a cloudy day with the temperature during the men’s javelin throw event recording 17 degree celsius and humidity at 78 percent. “I am relieved it is coming together well for me. A win is a win and I will take that happily.” Chopra began with a foul and then had 83.52m and 85.04m throws. He had another foul in the fourth round before coming up with his title-winning throw of 87.66m next. His sixth and last throw was 84.15m.

Chopra had previously claimed victory at the Lausanne leg in August of the previous year, marking his first Diamond League title. Just a month later, he made history by becoming the first-ever Indian Diamond League champion by winning the grand finale in Zurich in 2022.

With a personal best throw of 89.94m, the Indian sensation solidified his position at the top of the Diamond League standings, accumulating 16 points. He was followed by Vadlejch with 13 points and Weber with 12 points.

In addition to the Lausanne event, men’s javelin throw will also be featured in the Monaco and Zurich legs on July 21 and August 31, respectively. The Diamond League grand finale will take place in Eugene, USA, on September 16-17.