Neeraj Chopra achieved what had been a mental block for him over the years on Friday. After having won all that is there to be won – Olympics gold medal, World Championship, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games – Neeraj had one feat which eluded him over the years – the hallowed 90m mark, a gold standard in javelin throw. Finally, he achieved the mark with his third attempt at the Doha Diamond league. Neeraj, a two-time Olympic medallist, started strong with a world-leading throw of 88.44m at the Qatar Sports Club. After a foul in his second attempt, he came back with a stunning 90.23m throw on his third try, setting a new national record. His previous best was 89.94m, achieved in Stockholm Diamond League two years ago. Over time, Neeraj has had six throws in the range of 89m but had just missed the 90m milestone until now.
PN Narendra Modi was elated at Neeraj’s feat. “A spectacular feat! Congratulations to Neeraj Chopra for breaching the 90 m mark at Doha Diamond League 2025 and achieving his personal best throw. This is the outcome of his relentless dedication, discipline and passion. India is elated and proud,” PM Modi wrote on X.
A spectacular feat! Congratulations to Neeraj Chopra for breaching the 90 m mark at Doha Diamond League 2025 and achieving his personal best throw. This is the outcome of his relentless dedication, discipline and passion. India is elated and proud. @Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/n33Zw4ZfIt
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 17, 2025
Though, Neeraj breached the 90m mark for the first time, he finished second behind Germany Julian Weber, who threw 91.06m.
“It is a little bit bittersweet result,” Neeraj said, as quoted from Olympics.com
“I am very happy for the 90m, but this second place – it actually happened to me also when I competed in Turku and in Stockholm. I threw 89.94 and I was always second. And also here. I broke the national record and got second,” he added.
He is currently training under Jan Zelezny, the legendary Czech thrower and world record holder (98.48m, set in 1996). Zelezny is considered one of the greatest in the sport and has five of the top ten throws in javelin history.
“I feel very good that Jan Zelezny is my coach now,” Neeraj said, as quoted from Olympics.com
“We still work on a few points and still learning some things. Normally, he does not go to the Diamond Leagues, but he came with me because he told me that today is the day to achieve 90m,” he noted.
With this performance, Neeraj became the 25th athlete in history to throw beyond 90m in the men’s javelin. His mark is also the third-best by an Asian, behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (92.97m) and Chao-Tsun Cheng from Chinese Taipei (91.36m).
Despite Neeraj’s incredible throw, Germany’s Julian Weber snatched victory with a personal best of 91.06m on his final attempt. Grenada’s Anderson Peters, the 2022 world champion who had edged past Neeraj in Doha last year by just 1cm, finished third this time with a best of 85.64m.
“I am very happy also for Julian Weber,” Neeraj said, as quoted from Olympics.com
“He threw 91 so we both broke 90m for the first time today. We have been trying this for so many years, so finally, we managed to get it,” he added.
“It was just the first competition of the year, so I am confident that at the next competitions, I will throw far. I was very confident today, and I expected Julian to get a massive throw as he was very consistent with his attempts,” he noted.
“I told him that today is the day when we both can break the 90m mark. It is like a boost for us, and we will go far also next time,” Chopra added.
India’s Kishore Jena came eighth with a best throw of 78.60m. This was his second appearance in a Diamond League event after finishing ninth in Doha last year.
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