Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra maintained his outstanding form as he came back from a one-month injury layoff to claim the...
Digital Desk: Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra maintained his outstanding form as he came back from a one-month injury layoff to claim the top spot in the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League, his second straight win of the season in the esteemed one-day meeting series, on Friday. Chopra, 25, had missed three major tournaments due to a muscular strain incurred while training last month, but he returned with a bang, winning the Diamond League title here with a fifth-round throw of 87.66m. He started with a foul and then had throws of 83.52m and 85.04m. He fouled again in the fourth round before coming up with his winning throw of 87.66m. His sixth and last throw was 84.15 metres.
Julian Weber of Germany finished second with a throw of 87.03m, and Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic finished third with an 86.13m effort.
Chopra won the Lausanne leg in August of last year, giving him his first Diamond League victory. He went on to win the Diamond League title in the grand finale a month later.
The Indian superstar clinched the season-opening Diamond League meeting in Doha on May 5 with a throw of 88.67m. His personal best is 89.94 metres.
Murali Sreeshankar of India finished sixth in the men's long jump, with a below-par jump of 7.88m in the third round.
The 24-year-old Sreeshankar, who placed third in the Paris leg on June 9 for his first Diamond League podium finish, had thrown a career-best 8.41m during the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar earlier this month.
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