Neeraj Chopra finishes 2nd in Poland event

Chorzow: Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was not at his best but managed a second-place finish behind Julian Weber of Germany at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet here on Friday.

The 27-year-old Chopra was at third place till the penultimate round but sent his spear to a distance of 84.14m in his sixth and final attempt to move to second. He had 81.28m and 81.80m in his second and fifth throws respectively. The other three were foul attempts.

The competition was held under overcast conditions after rain at the Silesian Stadium earlier in the day..

German Julian Weber, who beat Chopra for the top spot in the Doha Diamond League on May 16 in a 90m duel, again emerged victorious with his second round throw of 86.12m.

Two-time world champions Anderson Peters of Grenada was third with a best throw of 83.24m. He was third in Doha also. This was the first time Chopra had recorded a best throw of less than 85m in an event after the 82.27m while winning gold at the 2024 Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar.

He had finally breached the 90m with a throw of 90.23m in Doha though Weber had won the top spot with his last attempt of 91.06m.