Neeraj Chopra finishes second in Lausanne Diamond League with season's best 89.49m

Neeraj Chopra secures second place in Lausanne Diamond League with a season best 89.49m throw, behind Anderson Peters.

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Lausanne Diamond League as he recovered in time to produce a season’s best effort of 89.49m in his last attempt on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Chopra was at fourth spot till the fourth round before sending his spear to 85.58m in his fifth attempt. He saved the best for the last as his sixth and final attempt measured 89.49m, which was better than his performance in the Paris Olympics.

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.

Nursing a long-standing groin injury, Chopra claimed a silver in the Paris Olympics on August 8 with an 89.45m throw, having won a historic gold in the Tokyo edition of the Games three years ago.

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.