Neeraj Chopra back in fine form. Watch his winning throw at Lausanne

India's Neeraj Chopra is back in roaring form after a brief layoff due to injury, hurling the javelin to 89.08m and becoming the first Indian to clinch a Diamond League Meeting title.

The Olympic gold medalist's first throw was his best at the Lausanne leg on Friday, with the 24-year-old from Panipat measuring the third-best throw in his career. His personal best was at the Stockholm Diamond League earlier this year, where he threw the spear to 89.94m and finished second.

With the Lausanne performance, Chopra has qualified for the Diamond League final on September 7-8 in Zurich; and also the 2023 World Championships, which has a qualification mark of 85.20m.


At Lausanne, Chopra's second throw only reached as far as 85.18m; he passed his third throw, committed a foul on his fourth one, and registered only 80.04m in his final attempt. But the first throw was enough to carry the day.

Chopra thus became the first Indian to win a Diamond League crown. Before him, discus thrower Vikas Gowda is the only Indian to have finished in top-three in a Diamond League Meet. Gowda had finished second twice, in 2012 and in 2014

Chopra had skipped the Birmingham Commonwealth Games due to a "minor" groin injury, and in his absence, Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem hurled the spear to a distance of 90.18 becoming the first South Asian to breach the 90m mark - which is considered a gold standard in the event.

The ace Indian athlete rested for over a month, and the way be began at Lausanne suggested the injury had not affected his form nor his rhythm.

Chopra is yet to cross the 90m mark - his personal best ever has landed 6 cms short -but going by the excellent form he is in, gaining those extra few centimetres only look a matter of time.