Neeraj Chopra breaks 90m barrier, finished second in Doha Diamond League

Neeraj Chopra secured second place in the Doha session of the Diamond League and made a throw of 90 meters in an international event for the first time. Read more on Dynamite News

New Delhi: Being Indian, the Paris Olympics hold a special place in our hearts. The memory still reverberates in our minds, as when Vinesh Phogat won a silver medal for the nation and was about to win gold but could not, as she was disqualified from the 2024 Paris Olympics for being overweight ahead of her gold medal bout in the 50-kg category.

Everyone was sure that Neeraj Chopra would bag a gold for the nation. And he kept the hopes alive when he threw the javelin at 89.45 metres, just 0.25 metres less than the expected 90 metres. But the whole nation was sure that nobody would be able to cross this mark—until abruptly, Arshad Nadeem crossed the 90-metre mark with a throw of 92.97, setting a world record for himself.

A spectacular feat! Congratulations to Neeraj Chopra for breaching the 90 m mark at Doha Diamond League 2025 and achieving his personal best throw. This is the outcome of his relentless dedication, discipline and passion. India is elated and proud. @Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/n33Zw4ZfIt

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 17, 2025

Neeraj Chopra has finally done what everyone has been waiting for a long time — he threw a javelin longer than 90 meters! He threw a tremendous 90.23 meters in his third throw at the Diamond League Doha event. However, he finished second in this event, behind Julian Weber of Germany, reports Dynamite News correspondent.

Now talking about the record, Neeraj was just a little behind — Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem threw 92.97 meters, and Neeraj was just 2.74 meters behind him. But the way Neeraj is constantly performing better, it seems that he will soon cross this distance as well.

The two also competed in the Paris Olympics 2024, where Arshad won the gold medal and Neeraj got the silver. Neeraj then threw 89.45 meters, while Anderson Peter, who finished third, threw 88.54 meters.

Neeraj and Arshad's rivalry is quite old — they first faced each other in Guwahati in 2016. They have faced off 10 times so far, of which Neeraj has won 9 times and Arshad has won only once.

Neeraj's current coach, Jan Zelenzy, who is from the Czech Republic, has himself been one of the top players to throw over 90m. And now Neeraj has also joined that elite list — he is the 25th player in the world and only the third player in Asia to throw over 90m. Earlier, Arshad Nadeem (92.97) and Taiwan's Chao Sun Cheng (91.36) had achieved this feat.