Neeraj Chopra finished second in his season-opening appearance at the Diamond League in Doha on Friday. Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch, last season's Diamond League Trophy winner, finished first with a throw of 88.38m, with Chopra finishing just an incredible 2 cm behind, at 88.36m. Former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada showed a return to form with a best throw of 86.62m to take the third position.
India's other competitor in the event, Kishore Kumar Jena, finished ninth with a best throw of 76.31m, over 11m lower than his personal best.
Chopra, clad in a jersey we haven't seen before (all black with a big multicolour splash of pink, orange, red on the top), started slowly. In fact his first throw was a foul while his second saw him hit 84.93m. For a thrower who likes to start with long throws at the start of the event, this was a touch concerning - at the point he was third behind Vadlejch and Peters. But he hit a 86.24m in his third attempt to improve... but improvement was also on Vadlejch's agenda as he threw 88.38 in round 3.
Chopra continued in this vein over the next two rounds, hitting 86.18m and 82.28 and entering the final round (which only has the top 3 throwing) firmly in second place. Vadlejch fouled out on his final attempt, but Chopra improved massively to hit 88.38m: this improvement was also materially important on the night as Peters finished off the event with an 86.60m (36 cm better than Chopra's previous best on the night).
Chopra's ability to step on the gas in the last round is something we've rarely seen - often times because he hasn't had to - but this throw will fill him with confidence as he continues to build up to defending his crown at Paris.
He'll have to watch over his shoulder though as Vadlejch just keeps on keeping on in that consistent manner of his, and Peters improves significantly after an injury riddled couple of years after an unfortunate incident back home in Grenada. Peters had three throws over 85m in Doha, and if he continues along this path of improvement, he could prove to be a big threat at the Olympics.
Kishore Jena, meanwhile, had a disappointing outing, starting with a 75.72m before fouling his next attempts and hitting 76.31m in the third round. There wouldn't be a fourth as he was eliminated (only top 8 make it past round 3 at the Diamond League events) there.
He'll look to rediscover his stunning 2023 form sooner rather than later, and it could well come in his home state of Odisha where he will be competing in the Federation Cup on May 15. Neeraj Chopra will be there too, competing on home soil for the first time since his Olympic win in 2021.
Neeraj Chopra reacts after his second-placed finish in the Doha Diamond League
"The most important competition for me this year is Paris Olympics, but Diamond League meetings are important too. This was the opener for me this season, I finished second with a narrow two centimetre margin but next time I will try to draw far and try to win," said Chopra.
"The support I am getting from the Indian people here in Qatar is always amazing, there aren't words enough for me to thank them for their support. Maybe in some years the Indian will throw really far! I feel really proud that I am an Indian," said the 26-year-old.
Meanwhile, you can relive all the action right here on our live blog:
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