On Thursday, India’s best javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra added to his growing collection of medals by surpassing his previous best and creating a new national record on his first attempt.
Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic champion, finished in the top three at the prestigious Diamond League Meeting on Thursday but just missed the 90-meter mark in front of a crowded field. The 89.94-meter javelin throw by 24-year-old Chopra, which was just 6 cm short of the 90-meter mark, which is the industry standard, proved to be his greatest throw.
His other throws included lengths of 84.37, 87.46, 84.77, 86.67, and 86.84 metres. He broke his previous national mark of 89.30m, which he had achieved on June 14 in Turku, Finland, during the Paavo Nurmi Games, where he came in second.
Anderson Peters of Grenada, the reigning world champion and leader of the season, won the event with a best throw of 90.31 metres, which he produced on his third try.
Third place went to German athlete Julian Weber, whose round throw measured 89.08 metres. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, an Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo, placed fourth with a throw of 88.59 metres.
Chopra had defeated Peters twice this season entering the diamond league. India won the gold medal at the Kurotone Games in Finland. And once more, the Peters’ country placed third at the Paavo Nurmi Games.