Maybe God wants me to throw 90m somewhere else: Neeraj Chopra after finishing 2nd in Doha

India’s golden boy Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Doha Diamond League on Friday, May 10 after producing a throw of 88.36 metres

In Short

Neeraj Chopra threw 88.36m in the Doha Diamond League
The 26-year-old Neeraj bagged the 2nd place in Doha
Neeraj will next take part in the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar

Neeraj Chopra said that he was happy after finishing second in the Doha Diamond League on Friday, May 10. India’s golden boy put up his best throw of 88.36 metres in his sixth attempt and missed out on the top spot by a mere 0.02 metres. Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic finished on top with a throw of 88.38 metres that he produced in his fourth attempt. Neeraj, however, felt that his efforts weren’t top notch and that he could have done better. The 26-year-old is next set to take part in the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar, Odisha and sounded confident about putting up a better show.
Chopra also failed to breach the elusive 90-metre mark, but said that he would achieve the feat someday or the other. Back in 2022, Neeraj notched his personal best throw of 89.94 metres in the Stockholm Diamond League.

Doha Diamond League: Neeraj finishes 2nd

‘I will throw over 90 metres’

“I felt good that I threw over 88. I am satisfied with the result, but not satisfied with my effort. I need work hard and maybe in the next competition, I will throw far,” Neeraj said.

“Today I felt I could do it, but somewhere I could not. Maybe God wants me to do it somewhere else. I told yesterday that I am happy with my consistent performances. I will throw over 90 metres,” he added.

He also had words of praise for Jakub, who made a first-place finish 3 times in the Diamond League in 2016, 2017 and 2023.
“It’s always good competing with Jakub. He is a good friend and I really admire him,” Neeraj added.

While Neeraj and Jakub bagged the second and first positions respectively, Grenada’s Anderson Peters finished third with the best throw of 86.62 metres.

While Neeraj had his share of joy, Kishore Jena did not have a great day after he was disqualified following his third throw. The focus stays on Neeraj and Jena, who both have qualified for the Paris Olympics.