Neeraj Chopra, former javelin Olympic and world champion, made a positive statement on his return from a lengthy injury lay-off at the Doha Diamond League 2026 on Friday. His best throw of 85.69m at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium saw him finish in fourth spot, but it helped him qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next month.
Sharing a video of his effort on X handle on Saturday, Chopra wrote: ‘’Happy to be back on the field. 85.69m felt good, and ready for the season ahead!’’ A busy season lies ahead for the Indian ace, who will try to shake off memories of a disappointing eighth place finish at the 2025 World Championships in September.
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga, an emerging star at the global level now, won the gold with a best throw of 88.68m while former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was second with 86.38m. USA’s Curtis Thompson claimed third spot with 85.99m. This was Tharanga’s second Diamond League win this month after he stunned all with a massive 92.62m throw at the Rome Diamond League.
A two-time Olympic medallist, Neeraj recovered after opening with a foul throw to find his range with a throw of 82.77m, surpassing the CWG qualifying standard. The 28-year-old Neeraj was provisionally named in India’s 32-member squad but still needed to breach the qualification standard to confirm his selection. He then improved to his best effort of 85.69m with his third attempt and also threw 83.45 on his fourth, making all three of his legal throws above the qualification standard.
Doha, incidentally, has been a happy hunting ground for Neeraj as he won the event in 2023 and finished second in 2024 and 2025. Last year, Neeraj produced a national record throw of 90.23m in Doha to finally breach the coveted 90m barrier - only to settle for second place behind Germany’s Julian Weber.
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