World Champion Neeraj Chopra finished second in the season-ending Diamond League Final here on Thursday night after making his highest throw of the evening on his sixth and final turn, throwing the javelin to 85.01. After three fouls and two legal throws, Chopra finished third at 84.35, but his final-second attempt put him ahead of Keshorn Walcott.
The Indian icon and current World Champion was able to maintain his amazing run of 26 straight top-two performances on the international scene thanks to his runner-up finish.
Chopra lost the title he had won the year before in a meet a few weeks before the World Championships in Tokyo in October. He finished third in a field of seven competitors with a best performance of 84.35 meters, falling short of his personal best of 90.23 meters in this Swiss city.
The reigning champion Chopra was unable to execute his best work because he was having trouble finding his groove and making mistakes with his technique. In the first round itself, the eventual winner, Julian Weber, set a world-record and personal best distance with a huge heave that landed the spear at 91.37 meters, surpassing his previous best of 90.06 meters, which ended the tournament in the first few minutes.
The majority of the competitors, with the exception of Weber, did not throw their best during the two-day competition, and former world champion Anderson Peters finished fourth with a best throw of 82.06.
The 27-year-old Chopra, who won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and then finished second in Paris last year, began with a throw of 84.35 meters in his first turn, placing him third behind German competitor Julian Weber, who began with an incredible 91.37 meters, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott, who began with an 84.95.
Chopra and Walcott both threw 79.91 and 82.00 meters, but Weber jumped ahead with a 91.51 that all but guaranteed him first place. Both he and Chopra failed on their third try, while the two-time Olympic champion from India failed on his second try as well. The throws made by Weber (83.66m) and Walcott (81.78m) had no effect on the final outcome.
Weber had the third-best throw of the competition at 86.45m, Walcott had a mediocre 77.00, and Chopra had fouled his fifth try as well. With a desperate sixth and final throw, he got past Walcott.
By placing first in Paris in June with an attempt of 88.16 meters, Chopra had earned a spot in the Diamond League Final. He was aiming to surpass the 90-meter mark once more in Zurich after throwing a national record and his personal best of 90.25 meters in May in Doha.
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