Neeraj Chopra is no stranger to firsts. But on Thursday night in Lausanne, it was a strange sort of first for him. He was competing at an event for the first time as the *former* Olympic champion. Just two weeks after he was pipped to the title by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, Neeraj was back at work. He wasn’t pleased with his efforts at the Stade de France, but since he hadn’t exacerbated the groin niggle that has followed him along for a few years now, he decided to enter the Diamond League meet.
With his sixth and final attempt, Neeraj found that one big effort as he came up with yet another Season Best throw, and finished second on the night with the mark of 89.49m, behind only Anderson Peters’ sensational 90.61m. That’s now thrice this month alone that Neeraj has managed to register a new lifetime second-best throw. It was 89.34m at Paris in qualification, then 89.45 at the Olympics final, and he pushed that up by 4cms in Lausanne. All behind only that 89.94m that stays atop his list, for now.
Fight through, indeed. In Lausanne, an admittedly semi-fit Neeraj was on the brink of ending a fine streak that has summed up his consistency over the years. In a physically demanding sport like javelin, to finish top three for six years is no joke. Even Neeraj’s colleagues on the night would attest to that, each of them having their own battles to overcome.
Neeraj Chopra, known as the pride of India, performed brilliantly in the Lausanne Diamond League 2024. He threw a javelin of 89.49 meters in the last attempt and finished second. With this, he has qualified for the final.
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