Following the second-place finish at the Lausanne Diamond League, Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic and World Championships gold medalist javelin thrower from India, revealed his satisfaction at coming up with the second-best throw in his career.
Right on the heels of his silver medal at the recent Olympics in Paris, Chopra registered his season’s best throw in the Lausanne Diamond League. His 89.49m effort was a monster throw.
Chopra, in the aftermath of the event, said, “The feeling was not great at first, but I am happy with my throw, especially the second-best throw on my last attempt,” according to Olympics.com. He added, “It was a tough start, but the comeback was nice and I enjoyed the fighting spirit I showed.”
He also mentioned, “Although my early throws were at about 80-83 meters, I dug in hard in the last two attempts and finished the best. At this sort of level, competing, it is important to remain mentally tough and fight through.”
Grenada’s Anderson Peters won with a 90.61m record, while Germany’s Julian Weber took third with 87.08m, Olympics.com reports.
The 28-year-old Chopra is now a two-time Olympic medallist. He began the evening quite modestly. His first four throws did not cross the 85m mark. Chopra was throughout the event in fourth place but jumped to third place with the penultimate throw of 85.58m. He earned himself one extra throw with that performance.
The final round saw Peters, Weber, and Chopra in contention. He managed his second-best throw ever. He still stands by the 89.94 meters thrown at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022 for his career best, which became the national record in India.
For the second time since Paris 2024, Chopra finished a close second despite achieving his second-best throw of the month. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the Asian Games event. And made a new Olympic record of 92.97 meters, beating India’s Neeraj Chopra, who threw 90 meters.
Chopra’s finish at Lausanne places him 3rd overall. Boosting his chances for a Diamond League Final spot in Brussels next month. Chopra became the 1st Indian to win the Diamond League title in 2022 and ended up with the silver last year.
The Lausanne Diamond League meet was the fifth competition of the season for Chopra. He has faced many injury issues, more specifically with his adductor, which impacted his performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Chopra had also withdrawn from the Ostrava Golden Spike in May as a precaution.
According to Olympics.com, the Brussels Diamond League Final will be the final event of the season for Chopra.
ANI
