Neeraj Chopra finally breaches 90-metre mark

India's double Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra finally breached the 90-metre mark in men's javelin. Neeraj threw a massive 90.23 metres in his third attempt in the Doha Diamond League on Friday.

The 27-year-old had thrown over 89 metres at least four times, but never crossed 90 metres until tonight. He had a personal best of 89.94 metres set in 2022. He had hit 89.49 metres in Lausanne in August 2024 after hitting 89.34 m (qualifying) and 89.45 m (finals) to claim the silver medal in the Paris Olympics the same month.

Neeraj finally crossed the threshold of 90 m in Doha to set a new national record. However, his impressive effort, the world-leading mark at that point, did not give him the top spot.

Germany's Julian Weber stole Neeraj's thunder with a stunning 91.06 metres in his final attempt to make it the world-leading effort. Weber, too, had not breached the 90-metre mark until tonight.

Recently, Neeraj started working with Javelin legend and World Record holder Jan Zelezny. It is clear that the Czech, who holds the WR of 98.48 metres set in 1996, has worked his magic on India's superstar athlete.  

Neeraj clinched India's first track and field medal (a gold) in the Olympic Games by throwing 87.58 metres in Tokyo in 2021. Chopra settled for silver in Paris, missing out on the gold to Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem (92.97 m).

In recent months, Neeraj faced online abuse from his Indian fans in connection with an invitation extended to Pakistan's Nadeem for his Neeraj Chopra Classic. Chopra faced the social media backlash in the wake of an attack launched by Pakistan-based terrorists at Pahalgam in Kashmir, which led to the deaths of 26 tourists. On the eve of the Diamond League, Chopra said he never really had a strong friendship with Nadeem.