Neeraj Chopra climbs to 5th in Diamond League standings after 88.05m throw | Other Sports News

Neeraj Chopra produced his best throw in more than a year to finish second at the Lausanne Diamond League on Friday, narrowly missing out on the top spot to Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage while collecting crucial qualification points.

Chopra registered a season-best 88.05m with his second attempt at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, briefly taking the lead before Pathirage responded with 88.14m in the third round.

Neither athlete improved in the remaining rounds, leaving the Indian nine centimetres behind the Sri Lankan. Grenada’s Anderson Peters finished third with a sixth-round effort of 86.69m.

The result earned Chopra seven Diamond League points, taking his tally to 12 and lifting him from seventh to fifth in the men’s javelin standings. He is now inside the top-six qualification zone for the season-ending Diamond League Final.

Pathirage leads the standings with 31 points, followed by Peters with 28. American Curtis Thompson and Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott occupy the next two positions with 18 points each. All four have qualified for the Final.

Chopra is three points ahead of Germany’s Thomas Röhler and Kenya’s Julius Yego, who have nine points each.

The Diamond League is contested across a series of meetings during the athletics season, with athletes earning points based on their finishing positions. The top six men’s javelin throwers qualify for the Final.

Chopra returns to 88m territory

The 28-year-old opened the competition with 83.54m, while Pathirage established the early lead with 85.99m before improving to 87.06m on his second attempt.

Chopra responded with 88.05m, improving his previous season best of 85.83m, recorded while finishing second at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

It was also his longest throw since he registered 88.16m at the Paris Diamond League in June 2025.

Pathirage reclaimed the lead with his next attempt, and the narrow advantage proved decisive.

Peters completed the top three, while Walcott finished fourth with 83.71m. Marc Anthony Minichello was fifth with 80.06m, followed by Thompson at 78.13m, the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch at 77.32m, Ukraine’s Artur Felfner at 74.84m and Switzerland’s Simon Wieland at 73.23m.

Pathirage beats Chopra for third time in 2026

Lausanne marked the third meeting between Chopra and Pathirage this season, with the Sri Lankan finishing ahead of the Indian on each occasion.

The nine-centimetre gap in Lausanne was the narrowest margin between them this season.

Pathirage has emerged as one of the leading javelin throwers of 2026 and holds the world-leading mark of 92.62m, recorded at the Rome Diamond League.

Neeraj strengthens qualification prospects

Although Chopra’s place in the Diamond League Final is not yet mathematically secure, the Lausanne result has strengthened his position ahead of the remaining qualification events.

It also provided an encouraging sign after he failed to cross 86m in his first two competitions of the season.

Chopra’s last victory came at the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru in July 2025.