Neeraj Chopra Qualifies For 2026 Diamond League Javelin Final Despite Missing Zurich Meet As Rumesh Pathirage Leads Standings

· Free Press Journal

New Delhi: India's javelin throw legend Neeraj Chopra has booked his place in the javelin throw final, despite missing the Zurich Diamond League held on Thursday.

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As per the Diamond League's official website, there is already a 'Q' in front of Neeraj's name, who has secured 12 points in the competition, having played in Doha and Lausanne. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage is the table-topper with 39 points. The Diamond League final will take place from September 4-5 in Brussels this year.

As per the website, six athletes, Rumesh, Anderson Peters, Keshorn Walcott, Curtis Thompson and Julius Yego have booked their tickets for javelin throw event in the men's javelin throw.

Recently in Lausanne, Neeraj finished second with a season-best throw of 88.05m, missing out on the top spot by just nine centimetres. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage continued his impressive 2026 campaign, winning the event with an 88.14m effort.

The result extended Chopra's wait for a victory, with his last win coming at the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru in July 2025. However, his return to the 88m range will be a major positive, particularly after a difficult start to the season.

Before Lausanne, Chopra had competed in just two events in 2026 -- finishing fourth at the Doha Diamond League and second at the Commonwealth Games -- without crossing the 86m mark in either competition.

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In June, he made a comeback after a nine-month layoff during the Doha Diamond League yesterday, with a best throw of 85.69 metres, which helped him achieve the fourth position.

The star athlete enjoys competing in the Diamond League, with five meet wins and a title win in the final. In the 2022 final in Zurich, he took the top spot with a best throw of 88.44 m, becoming the first Indian to win the Diamond League champion trophy.

Coming to the Zurich Diamond League, Sri Lankan javelin thrower Rumesh Pathirage continued his monstrous run, producing a massive 92.07 throw to capture the top spot in the Zurich Diamond League.

On Thursday, the Commonwealth Games champion was at the peak of his powers, producing the winning throw in his sixth attempt, finishing well ahead of Anderson Peters, a former world champion, who touched 86.23 m, while Poland's Dawid Wegner took the third spot with his personal best of 85.16 m, as per Olympics.com. 

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