Neeraj Chopra Starts 2026 Season with 4th at Doha Diamond League, Secures Commonwealth Games Spot
Quick Look
- Javelin star Neeraj Chopra began his 2026 season at the Doha Diamond League, finishing fourth and qualifying for the Commonwealth Games.
- This follows a strong 2025 season, including a historic 90.23m throw, despite a dip at the Tokyo World Championships.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Neeraj Chopra is a celebrated Indian javelin thrower, an icon of Indian athletics, and an honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. He won India's first track-and-field Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
India's javelin star Neeraj Chopra kicked off his 2026 season with a fourth-place finish at the Doha Diamond League, while also securing qualification for the Commonwealth Games.
Chopra had finished second at the 2025 Diamond League.
RankAthleteNationDate of BirthAttempt 1Attempt 2Attempt 3Attempt 4Attempt 5Attempt 6BestNotesQualification PointsQualification Ranking 1Rumesh Tharanga PathirageSri Lanka21 Mar 200382.6284.6380.5388.6884.4781.3588.68–231 2Anderson PetersGrenada21 Oct 199782.8286.38–85.7380.6483.2786.38SB222 3Curtis ThompsonUSA8 Feb 199685.9978.9976.0983.01XX85.99SB153 4Neeraj ChopraIndia24 Dec 1997X82.7785.6983.45X–85.69SB57 5Artur FelfnerUkraine17 Oct 2003X80.6783.62XX–83.62SB48 6Julius YegoKenya4 Jan 198978.6280.0281.7382.22X–82.22SB96 7Keshorn WalcottTrinidad & Tobago2 Apr 199381.4780.33X79.02X–81.47–134 8Jakub VadlejchCzech Republic10 Oct 199080.38XXX––80.38–310 9Mohamed HusseinEgypt10 Jan 200379.21X72.7079.21––79.21–––
Key:
SB = Season Best
X = Foul attempt
– = No attempt/Passed attempt
A look back at Neeraj Chopra's 2025 season
India’s star javelin thrower saw his remarkable run of consistency come to an end at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this year, finishing 8th in the final with a best effort of 84.03m. It was the first time in 26 consecutive events that Chopra failed to finish in the top two, marking a rare dip in an otherwise dominant career phase.
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The result also brought an end to his extraordinary 33-event podium streak, which had begun at the 2018 All India Inter-Services Championships and stood as one of the most consistent runs in global athletics.
Despite the setback, Chopra’s 2025 season remained highly competitive and filled with standout performances. He opened the year with victory at the Potch Invitational in Potchefstroom, South Africa, before finishing second at the Doha Diamond League in May, where he created history by breaching the 90-metre mark for the first time with a throw of 90.23m. The effort not only set a new national record but also made him only the 25th male javelin thrower in history to cross the milestone.
He later went on to win the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru in July, further cementing his status as the face of Indian athletics. His season also included a runner-up finish at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland, followed by back-to-back wins at the Paris Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike, with best throws of 88.16m and 85.29m respectively.
In August, Chopra continued his top-tier consistency with a second-place finish at the Diamond League Final in Zurich, registering 85.01m and extending his streak of top-two finishes until the Tokyo Worlds.
Born on December 24, 1997, in Khandra village in Haryana’s Panipat district, Chopra has become one of India’s most celebrated sporting icons, bringing pride to the nation and the Armed Forces with his achievements on the global stage.
He created history at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by becoming the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. In recognition of his contribution to sport, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh conferred upon him the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army during a ceremony at South Block, New Delhi, attended by senior Army leadership.
Open Questions
- Will Chopra regain his top form after the Tokyo Worlds setback?
- What are Chopra's specific goals for the rest of the 2026 season?