Diamond League | Neeraj uncorks a 88.36m throw in his last attempt to finish second

Neeraj Chopra falls short in Doha Diamond League Javelin throw, finishing second by just two centimetres.

He saved his best for the last but for once, it just wasn’t enough.

Neeraj Chopra, on Friday night, was in the unfamiliar position of playing catch up as Czech Jakub Vadlejch set the mark early on and managed to stay ahead all through, finishing on top at the Doha Diamond League here with a best throw of 88.38m to push Neeraj into second spot, just two centimetres behind with 88.36m.

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Neeraj, participating in his first competition this year as he kicks off his Olympic gold defence, looked comfortable but not at his best. For someone known for his ‘one and done’ performances, starting with a foul throw was not ideal. It was similar to his situation at the Asian Games last year but here, the competition was different.

Vadlejch, who already had an 87m throw earlier this year, started with an 85.87 and while Neeraj improved over the next two attempts, the Czech was in no mood to relent this time around. Neeraj, who has often claimed it isn’t over till the last throw, proved why he rates consistency so highly.

While Jakub fouled his final attempt, Neeraj pushed himself all the way in his sixth attempt but fell agonisingly short of the mark.

The other Indian in the fray Kishore Kumar Jena, in his Diamond League debut, was unable to get anywhere close to his best, bowing out after the first three attempts and a best throw of only 76.31m. Jena had already said his main target was to get used to the field ahead of the Paris Olympics but he would be disappointed with not being able to cross the 80m mark.