Neeraj Chopra came close to winning the Lausanne Diamond League meet on Saturday, but had to settle for second place despite producing his best throw of the 2026 season.

The Indian star threw 88.05m on his second attempt to briefly take the lead. However, Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage responded with a throw of 88.14m on his third attempt and eventually finished first. Grenada's Anderson Peters took third place with a best effort of 86.69m.

Chopra takes the early lead

Chopra opened the competition with a throw of 83.54m. That effort initially put him second behind Pathirage. He then found his rhythm on his second attempt and sent the javelin 88.05m. It was Chopra's best throw of the season and moved him into first place. But his lead lasted only briefly. Pathirage produced an even better effort of 88.14m on his third throw to move back to the top of the standings.

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Chopra struggles to respond

Chopra could only manage 83.72m with his third attempt before recording a foul on his fourth throw. The two-time Olympic medallist decided not to take his fifth attempt, leaving him with just one final opportunity to overtake Pathirage.

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However, Chopra could not find the distance he needed with his final throw, which went just over 82m. Pathirage also did not improve his mark, allowing him to hold on to the Lausanne title.

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Pathirage gets the better of Chopra again

This was the third time in the 2026 season that Pathirage has finished ahead of Chopra. The Sri Lankan athlete had earlier beaten Chopra with a throw of 88.68m before going on to win gold at the Commonwealth Games.


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