‘The feeling wasn’t great, but…’: Neeraj Chopra after season’s best effort

NEW DELHI: Despite persistent fitness worries, star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra put up a gutsy performance that resulted in a season’s best effort of 89.49 meters, finishing second in the Lausanne Diamond League.
The 26-year-old started the fourth round in fourth place and shot his spear 85.58 meters on his fifth try. He left the best for last, and he recorded a last try of 89.49 meters on Thursday, which was just slightly better than the 89.45 meters he had just a few days before at the Olympics in Paris.
He nearly missed the sixth throw, but his 85.58-meter fifth round performance kept him safe.After five rounds, only the top three receive their respective final chances.
With a huge throw of 90.61 meters in the second round, Grenada’s Anderson Peters-a two-time world champion and bronze medallist at the Paris Olympics-won the competition. Julian Weber of Germany finished third with 87.08 meters.
“The feeling wasn’t great at first, but I am 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,” Chopra said after the event, as per PTI.
“Even though my early throws were around 80-83m, I pushed hard in the last two attempts finishing strong. Competing at this high level, it’s important to stay mentally tough and fight through.”
After having trouble finding his form the previous year, Peters dominated this competition from start to finish, setting a record for his class with a throw of more than 90 meters in the final round. In 2022, he set a personal best of 93.07 meters.
Chopra is tied for third place in the Diamond League rankings with Weber with 15 points, having earned seven points from Thursday’s second-place result. Peters scored 21 points to take the lead.
With 16 points, Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, who placed seventh on Thursday (82.03 meters), is currently in second place.
Despite having a chronic groin ailment, Chopra finished the Olympics on August 8 with a silver medal, adding to his historic gold from the Games in Tokyo three years prior.
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan defeated Chopra in Paris with an Olympic record throw of 92.97 meters. Nadeem was absent from the field at the Lausanne Diamond League.
Chopra said on Saturday that he would be playing in the Lausanne Diamond League, delaying his decision regarding a potential surgery until the end of the current campaign.
In the winner-take-all Diamond League final held in Eugene, USA, last year, Chopra finished second behind Vadlejch. Chopra had won the Lausanne leg in 2022 and 2023.
The DL finals for this season will take place on September 14 in Brussels. To make it to the series finale, Chopra must be among the top six finishers.
On September 5, there will be another DL meeting in Zurich, with a men’s javelin throw competition scheduled.
This year, Chopra has failed to win a DL meeting. On May 10, he came in second to Vadlejch in Doha.
Having taken home the gold at the Budapest World Championships the previous year, the Indian has been managing his groin issue.