Neeraj Chopra finished second in the men’s javelin throw event at the Zurich Diamond League 2023 in Switzerland on Friday.

The 25-year-old Olympic champion’s best attempt of 85.71m saw him miss the top spot by just 15cm as Jakub Vadlejch, who won bronze at the Worlds last week, took top honours.

Julian Weber, the 2023 European Games champion, finished third with an 85.04m throw.

Neeraj first attempt was of 80.79m after which the next 2 attempts were a foul.

He was at fifth position after the third round~ a position not so familiar with the name of Neeraj Chopra.

“I feel very good now, because everyone is a little tired after the World Championships – we gave our 100 percent there, but for this competition here my focus was to just stay healthy, and we have to focus now for Eugene and then the Asian Games,” said Neeraj after the event.

“For me, the focus was just to stay healthy and to give my 100 percent in my next competitions. Sometimes we need to read our bodies. Today, I feel OK, I am 100 percent OK, but I didn’t push too much. Sometimes, our number one goal is to stay healthy. Today I gave it my best, but still with the focus to stay healthy. I usually do my winter training in Europe, because it is a lot easier to travel, that’s why I spent some time in Loughborough a few months before competing in Budapest this summer,” he added.