WATCH: Neeraj Chopra Season Best Throw At Lausanne Diamond League 2024 To Finish In 2nd Place
It was a feeling of déjà vu for Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra, who once again finished in second spot just weeks after his silver medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. Neeraj produced his season’s best effort of 89.49m at the Lausanne Diamond League 2024 on Thursday (August 22) night but the effort wasn’t enough for him to finish in the top position.
Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medallist Anderson Peters took the Lausanne Diamond League 2024 title after two years from Neeraj Chopra with a tournament record throw of 90.61m. However, in the Diamond League there are no prizes for second place unlike other events where the top three finishers are awarded medals.
WATCH Neeraj Chopra’s season-best effort of 89.49m at the Lausanne Diamond League 2024 HERE…
Neeraj Chopra announces his redemption with his last throw of the day i.e whopping 89.49M & takes the 2nd spot!
What a comeback for SB!
2018 was the last time Neeraj C. finished outsid top 3 in any event.
And the run continues…#LausanneDL#NeerajChopra#DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/kSqukjyH51
— Gaurav Pandey (@Statistician400) August 22, 2024
Neeraj will now head to consult a specialist for his hernia injury, which he said after the Paris Olympics 2024 has been bothering him for a long time now. In fact in Lausanne, Neeraj’s second place winning effort came with his last attempt.
The 26-year-old Chopra was in 4th position till the fourth round before sending his spear to 85.58m in his 5th attempt. He saved the best for the last attempt as his final attempt measured 89.49m, which was better than his performance in the Paris Olympics 2024 earlier this month.
He was in danger of missing the sixth throw but his fifth round effort of 85.58m saved him. Only the top three after five rounds get their respective final attempts. Two-time world champion and Paris Olympics bronze medallist Anderson Peters of Grenada won the event with his second round monster throw of 90.61m while Julian Weber of Germany took the third spot with 87.08m.
“The feeling wasn’t great at first, but I’m 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,” Neeraj Chopra said after the event on Thursday.
“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,” he added.
Nursing a long-standing groin injury, Neeraj Chopra claimed a silver in the Paris Olympics 2024 on August 8 with an 89.45m throw, having won a historic gold in the Tokyo edition of the Games three years ago. Neeraj’s record has been incredible since winning the Tokyo Olympics 2021 gold medal as the Indian star has finished in at least 2nd place in 20 consecutive tournaments.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem had beaten Chopra for the gold in Paris with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m. Peters, who had struggled to find his form last year, led the competition from beginning to end and he stamped his class with the 90m-plus throw in the last round. He has a personal best of 93.07m which he had produced in 2022.
With seven points from Thursday’s second-place finish, Neeraj Chopra will be in joint third spot with Weber on Diamond League 2024 standings with 15 points. Peters jumped to top spot with 21 points.
Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who finished seventh (82.03m) on Thursday, is in second spot with 16 points.
This season’s Diamond League 2024 finals will be held in Brussels on September 14. He needs to finish in the top-six of the Diamond League meetings series standings to qualify for the season finale.