Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra registered back-to-back wins at Diamond League despite a one-month injury lay-off. He secured his second consecutive podium finish of the season at the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League on Friday night.
In a stunning display, Neeraj claimed victory in the men's javelin event with a remarkable throw of 87.66m in the fifth round. His outstanding performance surpassed the efforts of European Champion Julian Weber, who managed 87.03m, and World Leader Jakub Vadlejch, who recorded a distance of 86.13m.
Neeraj was making a return from an injury that had caused him to miss some competitions after his win at Diamond League 2023 event in Doha in May. He looked a little rusty in his first attempt, which was deemed to be invalid. Germany's Julian Webber took the lead with an 86.20 m throw. At the end of round one, Neeraj was not even among the top three athletes.
In his second attempt, Neeraj achieved a throw of 83.52 m. However, Julian was still in the lead at the end of round two. Neeraj showed improvement in his ranking, climbing to number three. Neeraj's third attempt was 85.02 m. With this throw, he climbed to number two. At the end of round three, he was at number two. Julian still had the lead with an 86.20 m throw.
Also Read: WATCH: Neeraj Chopra scripts history once again, becomes first Indian to clinch Diamond League title
The Indian's fourth attempt was deemed to be invalid. However, at the end of round four, Neeraj was still placed at number two. Neeraj's 'golden arm' did its magic in the fifth attempt, achieving a throw of 87.66 m. With this, he climbed to the number one position.
In the sixth attempt and final one, Neeraj achieved a throw of 84.15 m. Neeraj won the title as Julian slid to second with a best throw of 87.03 m. At third was Jakub Vadlech of the Czech Republic with an 86.13 m throw.
In the long jump event, Indian athlete Murali Sreeshankar finished fifth overall. He achieved his best jump of 7.88m after five attempts, displaying his talent and competing at a high level.