Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra produced his best performance in more than a year but was pipped to the post by the rising Sri Lankan star Rumesh Pathirage for the top spot by a mere nine centimetres in the Lausanne Diamond League meet in Lausanne on Friday (August 21, 2026).
The 28-year-old Chopra’s 88.05m throw in the second round, which fetched him the second spot in the nine-man star-studded field, was his best after the 88.16m he recorded while winning the Paris Diamond League in June 2025. It was also his season’s best throw.
However, the 23-year-old Pathirage continued his juggernaut this season as he overtook Chopra with his third-round throw of 88.14m.
Grenada’s Anderson Peters was third with his sixth and final round effort of 86.69m.
Reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago was fourth with a best throw of 83.71m.
World Championships bronze winner Curtis Thompson of the USA was sixth with a below-par 78.13m, while Tokyo Olympics silver winner Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic took the seventh spot with 77.32m.
Chopra later said it was a close tussle between him and Pathirage for the top spot.
“I didn’t realise it was only nine centimetres, it was really close, but I’m happy with the 88-metre throw. To be honest, it didn’t feel like it went 88m because I felt very relaxed. I tried really hard and later focused on my technique,” he said.
“With every competition, I feel that I’m coming back. The crowds in Lausanne and Zurich understand athletics and really support you, so it’s always good to compete here.” With his second-place finish, Chopra also jumped to top five in the season-ending Diamond League Finals standings from his earlier seventh spot.
For jumps and throws, the top six in the standings will compete in the September 4-5 DL Finals in Brussels. One additional athlete per discipline may also compete via a national or global wildcard selection.
Pathirage and Peters have already qualified for the DL Finals after accumulating 23 and 22 points, respectively. There is another DL meet which has a men’s javelin throw event in it — in Zurich on August 27.
Chopra had won the DL Finals title in 2022 and finished second in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The showdown between the two South Asian rivals lived up to the expectations, as Chopra sent his spear to 88.05m in his second attempt to overtake Pathirage and occupy the top spot briefly. The Sri Lanka responded soon after with his 88.14m effort in the third third to retake the spot.
This was the third time in a row that the 23-year-old Pathirage had beaten two-time Olympic medallist Chopra this year. He had earlier beaten the Indian superstar in the Doha Diamond League and then in the recent Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Pathirage had won in both the events, while Chopra had finished fourth and second, respectively.
Chopra began with 83.54m before coming up with a big throw of 88.05m. It was his season’s best after his 85.83m while winning silver in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. His third attempt measured 83.72m before recording a ‘No Mark’ in the fourth round.
Chopra then skipped the fifth round before coming up with 82.15m in his sixth and final attempt.
The reason for skipping the fifth throw could be that he wanted to keep himself safe and not exert much with the Asian Games coming up next month.
Crossing the 88m mark, however, would have given Chopra some confidence going ahead in the season after coming back from an injury. He responded to Pathirage’s throw of 87.06m to take the top spot after the second round, though the Sri Lankan came back in the third round to assert his supremacy.
The budding rivalry between the two South Asians was in full show after Pathirage clinched the gold and Chopra finished with a silver in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Pathirage has been in the form of his life this season, having also won the Doha and Rome Diamond League meetings, besides clinching gold in Glasgow with a throw of 89.75m. He also breached the coveted 90m mark with a season-leading throw of 92.62m in Rome in June.
In fact, the Sri Lankan has won eight of the nine competitions he has participated in so far in the season.
Chopra, on the other hand, is on a comeback trail after recovering from a lower back injury that has troubled him since September last year.
The injury delayed his return until the Diamond League in Doha. He was not 100 per cent fit in Glasgow but was able to win a silver with a season’s best throw of 85.83m.
“I can’t say my fitness is there like before. But I’m getting there slowly,” Chopra had said at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
One of the most consistent javelin throwers ever, two-time Olympic medallist Chopra has finished outside the top two in just two competitions in the last five years.
The Lausanne Diamond League was to see the most high-profile competition in recent memory but it has lost some shine with the pulling out of the reigning world champion Arshad Nadeem and newly-crowned European champion Julian Weber of Germany.
Published – August 22, 2026 02:06 am IST
