Neeraj Chopra Finishes 2nd At Janusz Kusocinski Memorial; Julian Weber First Again

India's javelin throw spearhead Neeraj Chopra could not quite come close to his Doha Diamond League exploits, but finished second nevertheless at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial athletics meet in Chorzow, Poland on Friday (May 23). Chopra registered an 84.14m effort with his sixth and final throw to overtake two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who had to be content with third place and a best throw of 83.24. Germany's Julian Weber again upstaged Chopra, winning the event with a top throw of 86.12m. (As It Happened | More Athletics News)

This is the 22nd consecutive competition where Chopra has ended up within the top two of the men's javelin throw field. Further, this was the first time he recorded a best throw of less than 85m in an event after the 82.27m while winning gold at the 2024 Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar.

It was a repeat of the Doha top three finish in Chorzow, with the only difference being that Weber, Chopra and Peters were all below their best under overcast conditions after rain at the Silesian Stadium, earlier in the day. There were only three 85-metre-plus throws in the whole competition, with Weber producing all of them. After his second round measuring 86.12m, Weber had 85.03m and 85.11m in his fifth and sixth attempts.

The double Olympic medallist from India began with a foul and then had 81.28 in his second throw. But he struggled to get a big throw and he was seen consulting with his coach Jan Zelezny, the legendary world-record holder javelin thrower, who spoke to Chopra from the stands.

Chopra's third and fourth throws were fouls. He had 81.80m in the fifth round, which kept him at the third spot before the 84.14m effort in his last attempt took him to the second spot. He had just three valid throws out of six attempts.

Chopra was originally slated to compete in and host the inaugural NC Classic 바카라” a world-class event featuring several international athletics stars including Weber and Peters 바카라” on May 24 in Bengaluru. But the event was postponed in the wake of the India-Pakistan conflict.

This Poland event is the third competition for Chopra this season. He started in South Africa at the Potch Invitational Track event in Potchefstroom on April 16, emerging on top with a modest throw of 84.52m. The 27-year-old Chopra then finally breached the coveted 90m mark with a personal best throw of 90.23m in Doha.

After the meet in Chorzow, Chopra will now compete at the Golden Spike athletics event in Ostrava, Czech Republic on June 24. The next Diamond League which has men's javelin throw in the roster is in Paris on June 20.

(With PTI inputs)