Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Lausanne Diamond League after managing a best throw of 89.49m on Thursday. Grenada’s Anderson Peters took top honours with a monstrous 90.61m final throw.
After throwing in the 83m range for most part of the night, two clutch throws in the fifth and sixth attempt ensured Neeraj’s track record of finishing in the top two in international tournaments went untouched.
The 26-year-old visibly struggled, starting with throws measuring 82.10m, 83.21m and 83.13m. His inability to get any higher meant the likes of Peters, Julian Weber, Artur Felfner and Roderick Dean Genki went ahead of him. Neeraj was in fourth place till the end of the fourth round of throws.
The reigning World Champion then pushed himself to throw 85.58m in the fifth attempt to burst into the top three, ensuring he could stay in contention for the final throw.
The last time Neeraj finished outside the top three was in the Diamond League in Zurich in 2018. Thankfully for the Indian athlete, Lausanne 2024 would not turn out to be an unpleasant memory for him and his supporters.
Peters saved his best for last with a big 90.61m throw, his season’s best and a meet record. With Weber only managing 82.33 off his final throw. Neeraj, who threw last, gave it his all in the final throw but was left gutted as the javelin fell marginally short of the 90m mark. His 89.49m throw is his season’s best and his second-best mark ever but saw him fall short of the elusive 90m mark once again.
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