New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra produced his best throw of the season but once again finished on the wrong side of a tight contest with Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga, as the two javelin stars delivered another nail-biting finish at the Lausanne Diamond League on Friday.
Competing at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Chopra threw a season-best 88.05m but was pipped by Tharanga’s 88.14m – a margin of just nine centimetres. Grenada’s Anderson Peters, a former world champion, took third place with 86.69m, according to an official statement.
The result extended a pattern that has now defined the rivalry between the two athletes. Tharanga has beaten Chopra in each of their last four meetings since the World Championships in Tokyo last September, including a gold-medal finish ahead of the Indian at the Commonwealth Games last month.
For Tharanga, the win in Lausanne marked his third Diamond League victory of the season, following earlier triumphs in Doha and Rome. His throw of 92.62m in Rome remains the best mark in the world this year.
Chopra’s competition followed a familiar rhythm of building momentum. He opened with 83.54m, enough to sit second behind Tharanga, before improving to 88.05m in his second attempt to briefly take the lead. Tharanga responded immediately with his match-winning 88.14m.
Chopra added 83.72m in his third round, fouled his fourth throw, and sat out the final round after a closing effort of 82.15m.
The Lausanne meet, known as Athletissima, was Chopra’s third competitive appearance of the 2026 season. He had earlier finished fourth at the Doha Diamond League in May before claiming silver behind Tharanga at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Friday’s 88.05m throw represented Chopra’s strongest performance since his return to competition this year. The Indian javelin thrower, who holds the national record of 90.23m set in Doha last year, had won in Lausanne in both 2022 and 2023 before finishing runner-up in 2024.
