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India’s Golden Boy Neeraj Chopra secured second spot in the Lausanne Diamond League 2024. The 2024 Paris Olympics silver medallist recorded the second-best performance of 89.49m. Chopra was on the fourth spot till the fourth round and saved his best for the last and recorded a monstrous throw of 89.49m. Earlier in the fifth attempt, the former Olympic champion threw a distance of 85.58m.
The throw that gave him second podium finish proved to be his second-best throw ever. Chopra surpassed the 89.45m attempt at the Paris Olympics 2024. His earlier throws at the Lausanne Diamond League were 82.10m, 83.21m, 83.13m, 82.34m, 85.58m. Anderson Peters of Grenada, the two-time world champion and Paris Olympics bronze medallist, won the event with a monstrous throw of 90.61m in his second round.
The third spot on the podium was secured by Julian Weber of Germany with a throw of 87.08m. Notably, Chopra has been dealing with a persistent groin injury, and he recently won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 with a 89.45m throw.
The feeling wasn’t great at first: Neeraj Chopra after finishing second at Lausanne Diamond League
Following the event, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics gold medallist opened up on his campaign at the competition. He told Indian Express, “The feeling wasn’t great at first, but I´m happy with my throw, especially the second-best throw on my last attempt. It was a tough start, but the comeback was really nice and I enjoyed the fighting spirit I showed.”
The 26-year-old added, “Even though my early throws were around 80-83 meters, I pushed hard in the last two attempts finishing strong. Competing at this high level, it’s important to stay mentally tough and fight through.”
