Neeraj Chopra finishes second in Diamond League, misses by 1 cm

India’s javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra grabbed the second spot in the Diamond League Final on September 14, at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.

He tasted defeat against Paris Olympics bronze medallist Anderson Peters in the men's javelin competition.

Competing , Neeraj's best attempt was 87.86 meters, just one centimetre behind Peters. Peters won the prestigious Diamond Trophy, announcing his return to form in the 2024 season.

Germany's Julian Weber finished third with his best effort of 85.97 meters. Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem and last year's Diamond Trophy winner Jakub Vadlejch did not compete in the Brussels Diamond League Final on Saturday.

On a cold night in Brussels, where temperatures ranged between 10-13 degrees Celsius, Neeraj finished as runner-up in the Diamond League for the second year in a row. Back in 2023, Neeraj had fallen short of defending his Diamond Trophy, losing to Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch. In that event, Neeraj had thrown 83.80m, while Vadlejch had won the title with 84.24m.

On Saturday, Neeraj did better than last year but lost the title by a whisker to Grenada's Peters.

Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal in the Paris Olympics with a mega throw of 89.45m. Neeraj, however, was not able to come close to his season-best on Saturday.