Chopra seeks first major title of season, up against Weber in Paris Diamond League

Neeraj Chopra returns to Paris aiming for his first major win of 2025, facing rival Julian Weber and a strong field in the Diamond League after narrowly missing out in two recent events

Paris: Having breached the 90m mark, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra would now be eyeing a top finish when he goes up against familiar rivals in the prestigious Paris Diamond League on Friday in a star-studded field here.

Chopra, German ace Julian Weber, and two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada will be among eight competitors vying for top honours in the second DL meeting of the season featuring men’s javelin throw on the roster. Five of the listed throwers have hit the 90m mark.

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Weber had upstaged Chopra in the Doha DL on May 16 after the Indian superstar finally breached the elusive 90m mark. Weber had recorded 91.06m with his last throw to trump Chopra, who had sent his spear to a distance of 90.23m in the same event.

The 31-year-old Weber had also beaten Chopra at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet on May 23 in Poland, where both performed below their best under chilly and overcast conditions. Weber had produced 86.12m, while Chopra could only come up with 84.14m to finish second.

Peters was there in the field too at both the Doha DL and the Poland event. He had finished third in both.

In Paris, Chopra would look to upstage Weber after finishing second in back-to-back competitions as he returns to the French capital after eight years for a Diamond League competition.

Chopra had skipped the Paris DL last year in order to focus on the Olympic Games, where he took the silver with a throw of 89.45m. He last competed in the Paris DL in 2017 as a junior world champion and finished fifth with a throw of 84.67m.

In the eight-man field at the Charlety Stadium on Friday, five have crossed the 90m mark. Chopra and Weber were the latest entrants to the exclusive club. Peters has already done it in 2022.

Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego and Trinidad and Tobago’s 2012 Olympics gold-winner Keshorn Walcott are the other two in the 90m club. Both achieved the feat back in 2015, and since then, their performances have declined.

“Few meetings can boast a field of five javelin throwers over 90m. Foremost among them is Tokyo Olympic champion and Paris silver medallist Neeraj Chopra of India, who is as powerful as he is consistent,” the Paris DL organisers stated in a promotional release for the event.

The other three in the eight-man field are Luiz Mauricio da Silva of Brazil, who has a season’s as well as personal best of 86.34m, Andrian Mardare of Moldova (PB: 86.66m), and Remi Rougetet of France.

Chopra began the 2025 season with a title in an invitational meet at Potchefstroom, South Africa, which was a minor — category F — event with a throw of 84.52m.

Four days after the Paris DL, Chopra will compete at the Golden Spike athletics meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 24. After that, the reigning world champion will feature in the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic on July 5 in Bengaluru, a World Athletics category A event which he is hosting.

Peters, Yego, and Da Silva will also be there in the NC Classic.