With an epic 90.23m throw, India’s Neeraj Chopra surpassed the 90m mark for the first time in his career on Friday as he broke the threshold during the Doha Diamond League. Neeraj achieved the milestone during his third attempt during the men’s javelin throw final. As soon as, the moment arrived, the whole crowd erupted in loud joy and began to applaud.
Neeraj Chopra, whose career has been studded with remarkable achievements right from unleashing a 86.48m throw as a teenager during U20 World Championships in 2016 to claiming the elusive gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was desperate to hit the 90m mark that eluded him for a long time.
Came close on several occasions, though 90m eluded him
Though Friday came as a relief for the champion as he managed to get the monkey off the back, during past few years he came astonishingly close to the milestone on numerous occasions.
During the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League, he missed by only six centimetres. During the Olympic final in Paris, he managed to achieve a distance of 89.45m with just one valid throw. Later that year, in the Lausanne Diamond League Final, he came even closer—only four centimetres off.
“A lot of people kept asking whether I’d ever throw 90 metres—because I hadn’t done it despite competing at the top level since 2018,” Neeraj told RevSportz, moments after his landmark throw in Doha.
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Neeraj became 25th man to scale 90m
By scaling the 90m threshold, Neeraj Chopra became the 25th individual to surpass this milestone in the men’s javelin throw competition. Neeraj also surpassed his previous national record of 89.94m, which he established during the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022.
Neeraj’s throw measuring 90.23m ranks as the 24th-best in the history of the men’s javelin throw event. It should be noted that Chopra’s coach, Jan Zelenzny from the Czech Republic, set the world record throw of 98.48m in 1996.
Among the 26 javelin throwers worldwide who have recorded throws over 90m, seven are from Germany, four from Finland, two from the Czech Republic, and one each from Grenada, Pakistan, Kenya, Russia, Greece, Norway, Great Britain, Chinese Taipei, USA, Latvia, Estonia, Trinidad & Tobago, and India.
Neeraj Chopra missed out on the top spot
However, Neeraj Chopra’s throw of 90.23m fell short, as Germany’s Julian Weber surged ahead in his last attempt with a throw of 91.06m. Ultimately, Neeraj Chopra secured the second position in the men’s javelin throw competition, following Julian Weber.
Anderson Peters from Grenada secured third place, while India’s Kishore Jena took eighth.
It should be noted that this is the first occasion Julian Weber has surpassed the 90m mark in the javelin throw competition. The German sportsman has now become the 26th individual to accomplish this.
PM Modi congratulated Neeraj
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Chopra’s unwavering commitment and hard work in a warm social media post, honoring the athlete’s enduring dream finally being realized.
