Neeraj wins Diamond League title, beats Weber but falls short of 90m

Paris: Neeraj Chopra, India's Olympic javelin champion, secured his first Diamond League victory in two years, edging out German rival Julian Weber in a high-calibre field without breaching the 90m mark.

The 27-year-old sealed the title on Friday night with a commanding first-round throw of 88.16 m, outperforming five competitors from the elite 90 m club. His subsequent attempts included 85.10 m in the second round, followed by three fouls, and a final effort of 82.89 m.

Weber claimed second place with an 87.88m opener, while Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio da Silva finished third, registering 86.62m in his third attempt.

"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 has a gold and silver in back-to-back Olympics, told the broadcaster.

Neeraj Chopra last clinched a Diamond League title in Lausanne in June 2023 with a throw of 87.66 m, following which he recorded six consecutive second-place finishes on the circuit.

His recent victory marked his first triumph in the Paris leg of the prestigious series. The last time he competed in Paris was back in 2017 as a junior world champion, when he placed fifth with an effort of 84.67 m.

"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 he is hosting.

Earlier this season, Chopra surpassed the coveted 90m mark during the Doha leg of the Diamond League on May 16, recording a 90.23m throw that earned him a second-place finish. Weber had edged him out for the top spot with a final round effort of 91.06 m.

"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," he said.

Julian Weber had also outperformed Neeraj Chopra at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet in Poland on May 23, where both athletes fell short of their usual form amid chilly, overcast conditions. Weber recorded a best of 86.12 m, while Chopra finished second with a throw of 84.14 m.

Chopra had opened his 2025 season on a winning note at an invitational meet in Potchefstroom, South Africa—a lower-tier (category F) competition—where he managed 84.52 m.

In Paris, aside from Chopra and Weber, three other competitors in the field had previously breached the 90m mark: Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego, Trinidad and Tobago’s 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott, and Grenada’s Anderson Peters. On Friday, Walcott placed fourth with a throw of 81.66 m, followed by Peters (80.29 m) and Yego (80.26 m) in fifth and sixth.

(inputs from PTI)