IMAGE: A first round throw of 88.16 metres was enough for India’s Neeraj Chopra to win the men’s Javelin Throw in the Paris Diamond League meeting on Friday. Photograph: Courtesy, Diamond League
Indian javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra won his first Diamond League title in two years as he upstaged Julian Weber of Germany after back-to-back second place finishes in Paris on Friday.
The 27-year-old won the title with his first round throw of 88.16 metres in a star-studded field, having five competitors in the 90m club. His second throw measured 85.10m. He then fouled his next three attempts before recording 82.89m in his sixth and final effort.
Weber was second with his opening throw of 87.88m, while Luiz Mauricio Da Silva of Brazil was third with his third round attempt of 86.62m.
“I am happy with my throw. My run-up was really fast today. I can’t control my speed, but I’m happy with the result and with the first position,” the Haryana-lad, who won gold and silver in back-to-back Olympics, told the official broadcaster.
Chopra breached the 90m mark in the Doha leg of the Diamond League on May 16 with a throw of 90.23m for a second-place finish.
“I’m hoping for some 90 metre throws because I broke that barrier in Doha. So now I believe I can do it some more. But let’s see, it depends on weather and good conditions, how the body feels, but maybe I will throw far in this season.
“I will compete in Ostrava (Golden Spike athletic meet) after four days on the 24th of June. So I need some recovery,” he said of his upcoming schedule which also includes the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru on July 5 — a World Athletics category A event which he is hosting.
Weber won the title in Doha with his last round throw of 91.06m.
The 31-year-old Weber had also beaten Chopra at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet on May 23 in Poland where both performed below their best under chilly and overcast conditions.
Weber produced 86.12m while Chopra could only come up 84.14m to finish second.
Chopra won his last DL title in Lausanne in June 2023 with a throw of 87.66m. Since then, till Friday, he finished second in six DL meetings.
This was Chopra’s first win in the Paris leg of the prestigious DL series. He last competed in the Paris DL in 2017 as a junior World champion and finished fifth with a throw of 84.67m.
The two-time Olympic medallist began the 2025 season with a title in an invitational meet at Potchefstroom, South Africa, which was a minor — category F — event with a throw of 84.52m.
On June 24, Chopra will compete at the Golden Spike athletics meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic. After that, the reigning World champion will feature in the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic on July 5 in Bengaluru, a World Athletics category A event which he is hosting.
