Neeraj Chopra reflected on his second-place finish at the Lausanne Diamond League, noting that "the feeling was not great at first."

Lausanne [Switzerland], August 23: After securing second place at the Lausanne Diamond League, India's Olympic and World Championships gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra expressed mixed feelings. Although he was initially disappointed, he was pleased with his performance, noting it was the second-best throw of his career.

Following a silver medal at the recent Paris Olympics, Neeraj achieved his season's best throw at the Lausanne event with a distance of 89.49 meters. He commented, "The feeling was not great at first, but I am happy with my throw, especially the second-best throw on my last attempt."

He described the competition as challenging, but appreciated his resilience: "It was a tough start, but the comeback was really nice, and I enjoyed the fighting spirit I showed." Despite early throws ranging from 80-83 meters, Neeraj pushed hard, finishing strong with a throw of 85.58 meters on his penultimate attempt, which secured him an extra throw.

Anderson Peters of Grenada won the event with a new meet record throw of 90.61 meters, while Julian Weber of Germany took third place with 87.08 meters. Neeraj, who initially struggled to exceed the 85-meter mark, finished with the second-best throw of his career. His personal best remains 89.94 meters from the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022.

This season has been challenging for Neeraj, who has dealt with injury issues. Despite these setbacks, including a precautionary withdrawal from the Ostrava Golden Spike, he remains in strong contention for the Diamond League Final in Brussels this September.

Currently ranked third in the overall standings, Neeraj aims to qualify for the final, continuing his impressive performance on the Diamond League circuit.