India's javelin star Neeraj Chopra secured his berth for the upcoming Commonwealth Games after comfortably surpassing the qualification mark at the Doha Diamond League, marking his first competition of the 2026 season.
Competition Overview
The 28-year-old, who had been sidelined for the last eight months due to a back injury, began with a foul throw on his first attempt. However, the former Olympic gold medallist quickly regained his rhythm on the third attempt, launching a throw of 85.69 metres to move into third place at the end of round three.
He followed this with a throw of 83.45 metres in the fourth round. To remain in the top three and qualify for the final shootout, he needed a throw exceeding 86 metres in the fifth round. Unfortunately, Neeraj recorded another foul throw and dropped to fourth place, ending his participation.
Top Performers
Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage claimed the top spot with an impressive 88.68m throw, while Grenada's Anderson Peters finished second with 86.38m. American athlete Curtis Thompson secured third place overall with a best effort of 85.99m.
Significance of the Venue
The stadium holds special significance for the Indian star, as it was here last year that he crossed the 90m mark for the first time, before being surpassed by Germany's Julian Weber, who registered a 91m throw.
Neeraj's Thoughts Ahead of the Event
Ahead of the Doha Diamond League, Neeraj said that the upcoming Commonwealth Games this year would be a tough competition, with several athletes having thrown 90m or more. He also reflected on his historic 90m throw at the same venue last year, stating that "technically, it was not that good."
"All of them have thrown 90m, so the Commonwealth Games will not be less (competitive) than the Olympics or World Championships; it will be a really tough competition," Chopra said during the press conference in Doha, as quoted by Olympics.com.
On his epic 90m throw last year, Neeraj shared interesting insights, noting that he could have gone two to three metres further. "Technically, that throw was not that good. It was really fast from the arm, but if I had done better with my lower body, that may be two to three metres more," Chopra explained.
