Two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Diamond League Final for the third successive time. The Indian star athlete ended with a best throw of 85.01m in Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium, behind Germany’s Julian Weber who won his maiden title with two 90m-plus throws.
Interestingly, Weber’s season-best throw of 91.57m was recorded in his second attempt, while Chopra managed to secure his position with a final effort of 85.01m after an opening throw of 84.35m and some inconsistent attempts during the event.
Chopra, who had won the Diamond League in 2022 at the same venue, was third until the fifth round. He started with an 84.35m throw and then had an 82m effort and a foul. Despite three legal throws out of six attempts, Chopra failed to match his usual consistency of producing 88m-plus throws and only managed to touch the 85m mark in his final attempt.
Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was fourth with a best throw of 82.06m on Thursday.
Chopra will now head to Tokyo for September’s World Championships as the defending champion. This will be his first major global competition since finishing second at the Diamond League Final 2025.
Top 2 finish at every event since 2021
Notably, Chopra managed to continue his streak of finishing in top two of every event since 2021. As per Sportstar, this was his 26th consecutive top-two finish dating back to the Kourtane Classic in June 2021, where he finished third.
How has he fared in 2025? Decoding his performances
- Chopra started 2025 by finishing 1st in Potch Invitational Meet, Potchefstroom in South Africa. With a throw of 84.52m, his performance secured the gold medal. He topped a six-man field.
- Chopra grabbed a 2nd-place finish at the Doha Diamond League in May. Notably, Chopra made history by becoming the first Indian to breach the elusive 90m mark in men’s javelin throw. His record-breaking throw of 90.23m secured him the second spot behind Weber’s 91.06m.
- Chopra finished 2nd at Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, Chorzow, Poland. He ended up with a best throw of 84.14m on his final attempt.
- Chopra fended off Weber at the Paris Diamond League 2025 in May to secure top place. Chopra recorded a best effort of 88.16m achieved with his first throw.
- In June, Chopra claimed top place at the Ostrava Golden Spike 2025. He won the title with a best effort of 85.29 on his third attempt.
- In July, Chopra won the first ever Neeraj Chopra Classic. He bagged the World Athletics gold tier event with a throw of 86.18 meters at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
- At the Diamond League Final in Zurich, Augsut 2025, Chopra took 2nd place with a best throw of 85.01m.
Discussion about this post