Neeraj Chopra Misses Gold Despite Breaching 90-Meter Mark – Here’s Why

India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra delivered a historic performance at the Doha Diamond League 2025 held at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium on May 16. Neeraj became the first Indian ever to breach the 90-meter mark, registering a sensational throw of 90.23 meters – a personal best that fans had long been waiting for.

Despite career-best effort, Neeraj misses Gold

Neeraj’s massive throw came during his sixth and final attempt, briefly placing him in the lead. However, in a dramatic turn of events, Germany’s Julian Weber produced an incredible throw of 91.06 meters in the last round to clinch the gold, pushing Neeraj to second place.

Top 3 standings:

1. Julian Weber – 91.06m
2. Neeraj Chopra – 90.23m
3. Anderson Peters – 85.64m

A new chapter in Indian Athletics

With this effort, Neeraj becomes only the 25th athlete in the world to cross the elite 90-meter mark in javelin throw. His previous best was 89.94 meters, achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League. While the gold slipped away, Neeraj’s performance marked a major milestone in India’s athletics history.

Kishore Jena finishes eighth

Fellow Indian athlete Kishore Jena also competed in the event and finished in eighth place, with a best throw of 78.6 meters.

New Coach, New Heights

This competition was Neeraj’s first under his new coach, Jan Zelezny, a former Olympic and world champion. After parting ways with long-time coach Klaus Bartonietz at the end of last season, Neeraj began working with Zelezny – and the immediate results speak volumes. His historic performance in Doha is a promising sign for the season ahead.