Far from my best: Neeraj Chopra after winning Lausanne Diamond Leauge with 87.66m throw

Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra won the Lausanne Diamond League on his comeback from injury.

Chopra beat his closest competitors – Germany’s Julian Weber and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch by narrow margin. This was Chopra’s second Lausanne Diamond League win in two years.

Speaking after the event Chopra told the organisers that he was far from his best and was indeed quite nervous on his comeback after a month-long break.

“I was feeling a bit nervous coming back from an injury. It was a bit cold here tonight. I am still far from my best, but I feel it is getting better. I am relieved itôs coming together well for me. A win is a win and I will take that happily,” Chopra said after the conclusion of the event on Friday evening, 30 June.

The 25-year-old Chopra had skipped three top events due to a muscle strain he sustained while training last month but came back with a bang as he won the Diamond League title here with his fifth-round throw of 87.66m.

“I wanted to win so I’m super happy with the results but I also want to go back to training and fix some of the things that I noticed and that are going to make me stronger. Lausanne always treats me well. Last year I won and this year too, so I look forward to coming again next year and win again! The next competition, Budapest, will be a big one for me!” the Olympic champion further added.

Neeraj began with a foul and then had 83.52m and 85.04m throws. He had another foul in the fourth round before coming up with his winning throw of 87.66m next. His sixth and last throw was 84.15m.

Chopra had won the Lausanne leg in August last year also for his maiden Diamond League title. He then went on to win the Diamond League trophy in the grand finale a month later.

The Indian superstar had won the season-opening Diamond League meeting in Doha on May 5 with a throw of 88.67m. He has a personal best of 89.94m.