Neeraj Chopra Narrowly Misses Diamond League Title by 0.1 cm

Paris Olympics silver medallist Neeraj Chopra missed securing another title by just 0.1 cm, finishing second in the Diamond League final with a best throw of 87.86 meters. This was his fifth Diamond League final appearance, narrowly missing out to Grenada's Anderson Peters, who won with a throw of 87.87 meters.

Paris Olympics silver medallist Neeraj Chopra narrowly missed securing another title as he finished second in the Diamond League final on Sunday. Competing at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, Chopra posted a best throw of 87.86 meters, falling short by just 0.1 centimeters.

Grenada's Anderson Peters, the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, clinched his first Diamond League title with an effort of 87.87 meters. Germany's Julian Weber, the 2023 European Games champion, finished third with a throw of 85.97 meters. Czechia's Jakub Vadlejch did not compete and was replaced by Belgium's Timothy Herman, who placed last with a throw of 76.46 meters.

Starting strong, the two-time Olympic medallist Chopra produced an 86.82-meter throw for second place behind Peters, whose winning throw came in the opening round. Chopra's subsequent throws were 83.49 meters, 86.46 meters, and he almost surpassed Peters on his third attempt with 87.86 meters. His other throws read 82.04 meters and 83.30 meters.

This was Chopra's fifth appearance in the Diamond League final, previously finishing seventh in 2017, fourth in 2018, and winning the title in 2022 with an 88.44-meter throw. Last year, Chopra finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch with an effort of 83.80 meters. The 26-year-old gathered 14 points in two Diamond League meets this season to qualify for the final, marking placements in the Doha leg in May and the Lausanne event last month to finish fourth on the overall points table. Seven athletes competed in the men's javelin throw final.

Chopra holds a national record of 89.94 meters, set at the Stockholm leg of the Diamond League in 2022, and achieved his career's second-best throw of 89.49 meters at the Lausanne meet. His silver-winning effort in Paris was 89.45 meters.

(With inputs from agencies.)