Neeraj Chopra produced his best throw of the 2026 season but once again came up short against Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, finishing second at the Lausanne Diamond League on Saturday. Chopra briefly took the lead in the rankings with a remarkable throw of 88.05 metres on his second attempt, but Pathirage regained the lead and went on to win the competition by throwing 88.14 metres on his third attempt. Anderson Peters of Grenada came third, throwing a best distance of 86.69 metres. Chopra started his campaign with a throw of 83.54 metres, which at first put him in second place behind Pathirage; the Indian then gave his best performance of the evening on his second attempt, throwing the javelin 88.05 metres and thus taking the lead.
This was the third instance during the 2026 season that Pathirage had finished above Chopra; the Sri Lankan had previously defeated the Indian with a throw of 88.68 metres before winning the gold medal ahead of Chopra, who took silver at the Commonwealth Games. Chopra’s throw of 88.05 metres was a considerable advantage since it was his longest throw of the season Although he didn’t win the match.
Earlier reporting noted: Neeraj Chopra comes second at Lausanne Diamond League, once again falls short against Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage Neeraj Chopra once again came short against Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage as the Indian javelin ace finished second in the Lausanne Diamond League on Saturday. The Lausanne meeting was likewise significant for Chopra’s attempt to qualify for the Diamond League Final at the end of the season; automatically qualified are only the top six athletes in the men’s javelin ranking, with extra spots being available via national or global wildcards. It was with his second throw that Neeraj jumped to the top.
The 28-year-old took the top spot for a brief while after his second throw; however, Pathirage reclaimed the pole position soon enough, and Neeraj wasn’t able to recover from there on. This is now the third time in the 2026 season that Pathirage has managed to get the better of India’s two-time Olympic medallist. Earlier reporting noted: Pathirage eventually won the Lausanne Diamond League with the best attempt of 88.14 metres, while Neeraj finished second with a best throw of 88.05m. Anderson Peters of Grenada came third with the best attempt of 86.69m. Earlier reporting noted: Speaking of the Lausanne Diamond League, Neeraj began the competition with a throw of 83.54 metres, but his initial effort came short of Pathirage, and he was in second place for starters. The trademark roar came out after the second throw, and Neeraj registered 88.05metres, moving ahead of Pathirage and Peters.
