Neeraj Chopra wins Lausanne Diamond League title, Murali Sreeshankar settles for fifth in long jump

Neeraj Chopra made an excellent comeback after a brief injury layoff by adding the Lausanne Diamond League javelin title to his kitty.

After a slow start, his opening throw was no mark, he gradually moved up the ladder as the competition progressed on Saturday, July 1. From the third spot, he moved to second, and with his fifth throw of 87.66m, he took the men’s javelin throw title at the prestigious Diamond League event held in Switzerland.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games champion in men’s javelin throw had a series of x, 83.52m, 85.06m, x, 87.66m, and 84.15m.

Germany’s Julian Weber led the star-studded field with his opening throw of 86.20m but eventually settled for second place with a throw of 87.03m. Jakub Vadlejech of the Czech Republic was third with a throw of 86.13m.

Chopra won the javelin title at the Doha Diamond League held in May. However, earlier in June, he took a break from practice due to a muscle strain and missed a couple of international events. He has been camping in Switzerland for the past four weeks as he worked towards making a competitive return.

While the 25-year-old won back-to-back titles on the lucrative one-day global circuit, it was heartbreak for Kerala’s Commonwealth Games silver medalist Murali Sreeshankar in Lausanne. The Indian long jumper finished a disappointing fifth with a best jump of 7.88m.

Sreeshankar recorded a massive jump of 8.41m earlier during the 62nd National Inter State Senior Athletics Championship held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from June 15 to 19.

LaQuan Nairn of Bahamas (8.11m) was the winner of the men's long jump title, while Miltiadis Tentoglou, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games champion of Greece, (8.07m) was second. Japan's Yuki Hashioka (7.98m) finished third.