Neeraj Chopra has ticked another box in his illustrious career. He added to his distinguished list of achievements by securing his first Diamond League title win in Paris with an opening throw of 88.16m at Stade Sébastien Charléty on Friday night. Despite a strong challenge from his German rival Julian Weber, who posted an 87.88m throw in his first attempt and ultimately finished second, Neeraj managed to come out on top. This was the first time in the season that Neeraj defeated Weber, who had won the Doha and Poland DL titles. The Paris win is Neeraj’s first DL title in two years, his last coming in Lausanne in June 2023 where he recorded a throw of 87.66m. Since then, Neeraj had finished second in six DL appearances. Competing once again in Paris after eight years — his last outing in 2017 ended in an eighth-place finish with a best throw of 84.67m — Neeraj scored a convincing victory. Following his triumph, Neeraj said, “It was a very good start. I felt really good at the start. But I had too much speed today. The runway was perfect, but I couldn’t control my speed. I need to do some more work on it. I am happy with the throw also. I am hoping for some more good throws in future DL meets.”
In the competition, Neeraj opened with 88.16m, then managed 85.10m in his second attempt. He fouled his next three throws before registering 82.89m in his final effort. Weber began with 87.88m and followed up with 86.20m, 82.03m, 83.13m, 84.50m, and 81.08m, failing to overtake Neeraj. Luiz Maurício da Silva of Brazil finished third with a best of 86.62m.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? Neeraj is set to compete next at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet on June 24, followed by the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru on July 5, a World Athletics category ‘A’ event. Speaking about his upcoming schedule, Neeraj commented, “I will compete in Ostrava. I need some recovery time as well. I am excited about this NC Classic also. It’s really something that I feel I did for my country and people are supporting. Indian people are following the javelin sport after the Tokyo Olympics. In future, I am thinking of making this event big.” He added: “I have already broken the 90m barrier in Doha. So now I believe I can do it some more. But let’s see, it depends on the weather and good conditions. Also, how the body feels.”
