Neeraj Chopra once again came short against Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage as the Indian javelin ace finished second in the Lausanne Diamond League on Saturday. The 28-year-old took the top spot for a brief while after his second throw; however, Pathirage reclaimed the pole position soon enough, and Neeraj wasn’t able to recover from there on. This is now the third time in the 2026 season that Pathirage has managed to get the better of India’s two-time Olympic medallist.
Pathirage eventually won the Lausanne Diamond League with the best attempt of 88.14 metres, while Neeraj finished second with a best throw of 88.05m. Anderson Peters of Grenada came third with the best attempt of 86.69m.
Heading into the event, Pathirage had had the better of Neeraj in 2026 on two occasions. In their first encounter in June, Pathirage was better than Neeraj with a throw of 88.68m. The duo then clashed again at the CWG, where Pathirage won gold while Neeraj got silver.
How did the event unfold?
Speaking of the Lausanne Diamond League, Neeraj began the competition with a throw of 83.54 metres, but his initial effort came short of Pathirage, and he was in second place for starters. It was with his second throw that Neeraj jumped to the top. The trademark roar came out after the second throw, and Neeraj registered 88.05metres, moving ahead of Pathirage and Peters.
Also Read: Neeraj Chopra Lausanne Diamond League Highlights
However, Pathirage came roaring back into the contest, reclaiming the top spot with a throw of 88.14m in his third attempt. This put further pressure on Neeraj, and the Indian then registered 83.72 in his third attempt to stay second.
The pressure firmly got to Neeraj in the fourth attempt as the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist registered a foul, and there were only more tries left for the Indian to move ahead of Pathirage.
Speaking of the fifth attempt, Neeraj gave it a pass while Pathirage fouled. And with this development, the status quo remained, and it all boiled down to the sixth and final attempts. However, Neeraj was not able to get the job done in the final attempt as he threw just a little over 82 metres, and in the end, Pathirage ended up winning the competition.
The Lausanne Meet was really important for Neeraj’s chances to climb the season-ending Finals standings. It is worth noting that only the top six athletes in javelin qualify for the final, and additional spots are available only through a national or global wildcard. Before the Lausanne Diamond League, Neeraj was seventh in the standings with five points.