Our Bureau
Doha
Neeraj Chopra, India’s track and field superstar, has finally achieved a feat that had eluded him for so long but it has come in a bitter sweet way. Chopra represented India in the Doha Diamond League 2025 and finished at the second position losing to Germany’s Julian Weber in a dramatic final contest.
In the Doha leg of the Diamond League Series on Friday, Chopra finally crossed the 90-meter mark for the very first time in his career. But the night belonged to Weber who inched past the Indian star to seal the victory. In his effort to win, double Olympic medalist from India, threw his javelin to a career-best 90.23 meters in his third attempt. With that throw he became the 25th athlete ever in the world to cross the 90-meter range.
Despite Neeraj’s stellar effort, his German counterpart had different plans. And just when it seemed like Neeraj might’ve clinched it with a 90-meter throw, Weber, for the first time in his career crossed the 90 meter mark too, securing a 91.06m throw. Weber aced the throw in a dramatic fashion in his very last attempt, snatching victory away from the Indian trailblazer’s paws.
Chopra in his post-competition interview admitted that he had been yearning for the 90m mark and is quite happy after finally achieving that though it has come in a bittersweet ending. He also congratulated his German peer on a stellar victory and promised to come back stronger.
“I am very happy to have breached the 90m mark but it’s a bitter-sweet experience. My coach Jan Zelezny said today is the day when I can throw 90m. The wind helps and the weather is a little warm and that helps. I also told Julian that we can throw 90m. I am also happy for him (Julian). I believe I can throw farther than this in the coming events. We will work on some aspects and will throw 90m plus again this season,” Chopra commented.
Neeraj Chopra began the contest with an 88.44m throw in the first attempt. He followed it with a foul in the second attempt. In his third attempt he crossed past the elusive 90m mark with a massive throw. His next three attempts were 80.56m, foul and 88.20m. Other than Chopra, Kishore Jena was also representing India in the tournament but had a below-average showing finishing eighth with a throw of 78.60m.
