Neeraj Chopra entered the 90m Elite club with a huge 90.23 million throw at the Doha Diamond League 2025. Despite the historic brand, Julian Weber of Germany stole the victory with an effort of 91.06 million in the final round.
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In a historic moment for Indian athletics, Neeraj Chopra finally violated the elusive 90 meters, throwing the javelin at a huge 90.23 m in the third round of the Doha Diamond League 2025 on Friday. The launch placed him in an elite club’s club club.
Chopra started competition in a dominant way, opening with a global launch of 88.44 m on its very first attempt. But it was his third round effort that stole the show, an imposing 90.23 m, marking the first time in his career that the Olympic and world champion had crossed the 90m barrier.
Chopra appeared intended for victory for most of the event, leading a solid alignment which included Anderson Peters and Julian Weber from Germany. However, the final round brought a touch to the tale. In a superb final, Julian Weber of Germany sparked a monstrous 91.06 m throw, flying both the victory and the head of the world of Chopra in a dramatic way.
A huge night in the javelin!@ Neeraj_chopra1 Finally erases the brand 90 m with 90.23 m turn 3 …
… but Julian Weber snatches the victory and the world leads far from him with 91.06 m in the last 3!#Diamondleague #Dohadl 🇶🇦
📸 @Gorczynskamarta pic.twitter.com/zkuprvpmrb– Wanda Diamond League (@diamond_league) May 16, 2025
It was also Weber’s first effort, over 90m and more, and he became the 26th javelin launcher to break the coveted brand. His effort has been the cutting edge brand this season so far. The double world champion and the bronze medalist of the Paris Olympic Games, Anderson Peters of Granada, finished third with his first launch of 84.65 m.
“I am very happy to have violated the 90m mark, but it is a bit bitter experience,” said Chopra later.
“My trainer Jan Zelezny said that today is the day I can launch 90 m. The wind helps and the weather is a bit hot and that it helps. I also told Julian that we can launch 90m. I am also happy for him (Julian).
“I think I can launch further than that in upcoming events. We will work on certain aspects and I will still launch 90m more this season,” he added.
The other Indian of the fray, Kishore Jena finished eighth with a throw less than 78.60 m.
Chopra started the competition with 88.44 m, followed by a bad attempt. He then sent his spear to the insufficiency of 90 meters to the collective sigh of relief from all over the country. Its next three series were 80.56 m, a fault and 88.20 m.
He first participated in Doha DL in 2018 when he finished fourth with a better launch of 87.43 m.
After winning gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, he won the title here in 2023 (88.67 m) and finished second in 2024 (88.36 m).
(With agency entries)
