Neeraj Chopra finishes second, Pathirage wins title in Lausanne Diamond League

Neeraj Chopra finishes second, Pathirage wins title in Lausanne Diamond League His 88.05m throw in the second round.

Key points

• Chopra had won the DL Finals title in 2022 and finished second in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
• Neeraj Chopra competes in the javelin during the World Athletics Diamond League athletics session in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 21, 2026.
• Nevertheless, the 23-year-old Pathirage continued his juggernaut this season as he overtook Chopra with his third-round throw of 88.14m.
• Reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago was fourth with a best throw of 83.71m.
• Chopra began with 83.54m before coming up with a major throw of 88.05m.

Neeraj Chopra competes in the javelin during the World Athletics Diamond League athletics session in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 21, 2026. Photo Credit: AP.

Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra produced his best performance in more than a year but was pipped to the post by the rising Sri Lankan star Rumesh Pathirage for the top spot by a mere nine centimetres in the Lausanne Diamond League meet in Lausanne on Friday (August 21, 2026).

Notably, the 28-year-old Chopra's 88.05m throw in the second round. It fetched him the second spot in the nine-man star-studded field, was his best after the 88.16m he recorded while winning the Paris Diamond League in June 2025. It was additionally his season's best throw.

Grenada's Anderson Peters was third with his sixth and final round effort of 86.69m.

While Tokyo Olympics silver winner Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic took the seventh spot with 77.32m, world Championships bronze winner Curtis Thompson of the USA was sixth with a below-par 78.13m.

Chopra afterwards stated it was a close tussle between him and Pathirage for the top spot.

"I didn't realise it was only nine centimetres, it was really close, but I'm happy with the 88-metre throw. To be honest, it didn't feel like it went 88m since I felt highly relaxed. I tried really hard and afterwards focused on my technique, " he stated.

"With every competition, I feel that I'm coming back. The crowds in Lausanne and Zurich understand athletics and really backing you, so it's always good to compete here." With his second-place finish, Chopra additionally jumped to top five in the season-ending Diamond League Finals standings from his earlier seventh spot.

For jumps and throws, the top six in the standings will compete in the September 4-5 DL Finals in Brussels. One extra athlete per discipline may additionally compete via a national or global wildcard selection.

Pathirage and Peters have already qualified for the DL Finals after accumulating 23 and 22 points, respectively. There is another DL meet which has a men's javelin throw event in it – in Zurich on August 27.

As Chopra sent his spear to 88.05m in his second attempt to overtake Pathirage and occupy the top spot briefly, the showdown between the two South Asian rivals lived up to the expectations. The Sri Lanka responded shortly after with his 88.14m effort in the third third to retake the spot.

This was the third time in a row that the 23-year-old Pathirage had beaten two-time Olympic medallist Chopra this year. He had earlier beaten the Indian superstar in the Doha Diamond League and then in the recent Glasgow Commonwealth Games. While Chopra had finished fourth and second, respectively, pathirage had won in both the events.

Chopra began with 83.54m before coming up with a major throw of 88.05m. It was his season's best after his 85.83m while winning silver in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. His third attempt measured 83.72m before recording a 'No Mark' in the fourth round.

Chopra then skipped the fifth round before coming up with 82.15m in his sixth and final attempt.

For context, the reason for skipping the fifth throw could be that he wanted to keep himself safe and not exert much with the Asian Games coming up next month.

Crossing the 88m mark, nevertheless, would have given Chopra some confidence going ahead in the season after coming back from an injury. Though the Sri Lankan came back in the third round to assert his supremacy, he responded to Pathirage's throw of 87.06m to take the top spot after the second round.

Notably, the budding rivalry between the two South Asians was in full show after Pathirage clinched the gold and Chopra finished with a silver in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Pathirage has been in the form of his life this season, having additionally won the Doha and Rome Diamond League meetings, besides clinching gold in Glasgow with a throw of 89.75m. He additionally breached the coveted 90m mark with a season-leading throw of 92.62m in Rome in June.

In fact, the Sri Lankan has won eight of the nine competitions he has participated in so far in the season.

Chopra, by contrast, is on a comeback trail after recovering from a lower back injury that has troubled him since September last year.

Meanwhile, the injury delayed his return until the Diamond League in Doha. He was not 100 per cent fit in Glasgow but was able to win a silver with a season's best throw of 85.83m.

"I can't say my fitness is there like before. But I'm getting there gradually, " Chopra had stated at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

One of the most consistent javelin throwers ever, two-time Olympic medallist Chopra has finished outside the top two in just two competitions in the last five years.

Meanwhile, the Lausanne Diamond League was to see the most high-profile competition in recent memory but it has lost some shine with the pulling out of the reigning world champion Arshad Nadeem and newly-crowned European champion Julian Weber of Germany.

For now, neeraj Chopra finishes second, Pathirage wins title in Lausanne Diamond League remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.