doha Veteran Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who started his season late due to injury, finished fourth in the Doha Diamond League competition here on Friday. The 28-year-old Chopra, who has won two medals at the Olympics, recorded a personal best of 85.69m in his third attempt, which was however not enough to win a medal.
Chopra has been suffering from back pain for some time. He suffered this injury during the Tokyo World Championships in September 2025. He was competing in an event for the first time after finishing eighth at the World Championships. After ‘rehabilitation’ in Turkey, he was practicing in Switzerland since May 25.
In the competition, Sri Lanka’s rising star Rumesh Tharanga Pathiraja won the title among many star players with a throw of 88.68 meters. Meanwhile, Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters finished second with 86.38 metres. America’s Curtis Thompson, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo World Championships, finished third with 85.99 metres.
Chopra, however, crossed the qualifying distance of 82.61 meters set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. He had already been included in the 32-member Indian squad for the Games to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2.
first attempt
Chopra started with a foul.
second attempt
He threw 82.77 meters and reached fourth place, thereby securing his place at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
third attempt
He performed even better and threw the javelin to 85.69 metres, taking him up one place to third place.
But as 23-year-old Pathiraj took the lead with a throw of 88.68 meters in the fourth attempt, Chopra again slipped to fourth place. Pathiraj was in fourth place till the halfway stage after throws of 82.62m, 84.63m and 80.53m in the first three attempts, but he proved his worth with a brilliant performance of 88.68m in the fourth attempt. After this he made throws of 84.47 meters and 81.35 meters. Pathiraj had won the title in Rome earlier this month with a spectacular throw of 92.62 metres, the best performance by a player so far this season. Due to injury, Chopra could not repeat his performance of last year, when he had finished second with a throw of 90.23 metres.
