Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will compete in the Lausanne Diamond League on August 21 against a star-studded men’s javelin field featuring recently-crowned Commonwealth Games champion and world leader Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka among others.

The event will, in fact, have five participants from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow that ended on Sunday (August 2, 2026).

Chopra, who won silver in Glasgow with a season-best throw of 85.83m in his second meet after an injury layoff, will face Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany apart from Pathirage.

The field will also include Tokyo Olympic silver-medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, Germany’s Julian Weber, Switzerland’s Simon Wieland and American Curtis Thompson, the world No. 2 this season.

“The five javelin superstars, who have won the last four editions of the Olympic Games and World Championships, will be present at Athletissima on August 21 for a competition of extraordinary quality,” the organisers said.

The Lausanne meet will be Chopra’s third competition since returning from a lower-back injury that sidelined him in September last year.

The 28-year-old opened his season with an 85.69m effort to finish fourth at the Doha Diamond League in June before improving to 85.83m to claim silver at the Commonwealth Games.

“Although we always want the National anthem to play, I did my season’s best and the comeback is going okay. There are other competitions as well. I am happy,” Chopra had said after his silver in Glasgow.

Chopra had finished runner-up at the Lausanne Diamond League in 2024 with a career fourth-best throw of 89.49m after winning the title in 2022 with an 89.08m effort.

Pathirage heads to Lausanne in red-hot form after winning the Commonwealth Games title with 89.75m.

The Sri Lankan has a personal best of 92.62m, achieved at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Roma in June this year, making him the only thrower to breach the 90m mark this season.

Neeraj Chopra qualified for the men’s javelin final at the Commonwealth Games at the Scotstoun Stadium, on Thursday (July 30, 2026) after finishing fifth in the qualification round.

Chopra’s compatriots Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh also made it to the final, which will be held on August 1.

Chopra is bidding to reclaim the Commonwealth Games title. He won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast but missed the Birmingham 2022 edition due to an injury.

The men’s javelin throw competition at the Commonwealth Games 2026 is being held in two stages, with the qualification round today, followed by the medal-deciding final in the early hours of August 1 (IST).

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)

Athletics and boxing received the lion’s share of funds in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games starting Thursday in Glasgow.

Of the Sports Ministry’s ₹53.09 crore expenditure on training and exposure, approximately ₹20cr was spent on India’s 32-member athletics contingent led by Neeraj Chopra while boxing (seven men and as many women) received ₹10cr. This includes preparatory camps in Switzerland, Turkiye and Poland for the athletes and in Ireland for the pugilists. Weightlifters, training in England, received ₹5cr, the ministry said in a presentation on Monday.

78 doping cases

Earlier in the day, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya revealed that India had 78 recorded doping cases so far this year. “These athletes have been banned from sports activities in accordance with the National Anti-Doping Rules 2021. The sanctions, as determined by the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP), include disqualification of results, forfeiture of medals/prizes, period of ineligibility from participation in sports and other consequences as prescribed under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code 2021,” Mandaviya stated in response to a query in the Lok Sabha.

State-wise, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have the highest number with 13 cases each, followed by Madhya Pradesh (11) and Karnataka (nine). No dope violations have been found among athletes from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim.

Para contingent send-off

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) formally sent off the 28 para athletes, part of the 126-strong Indian contingent, for the Commonwealth Games at a separate function on Monday. India will compete in five para disciplines — athletics, powerlifting, swimming, track cycling and women’s wheelchair 3×3 basketball.

“Every athlete in this contingent has earned the honour of wearing the Indian jersey through years of hard work, sacrifice and perseverance. We are confident that this talented contingent will rise to the occasion and continue India’s remarkable journey in international para sport,” PCI president Devendra Jhajharia said.

A nine-month break to recover from multiple injuries forcing a late start to the season saw Neeraj Chopra finish fourth in his maiden competition this year. Coupled with his 8th-place at the 2025 World Championships, this is the longest the Olympic and World champion has gone outside the podium.

A year ago, it would have been a certified disaster. Now, the 28-year-old admits it is simply a step towards regaining his form and fitness, preferring to focus on going big at major events rather than chasing success at every outing.

“There was no pressure (at Doha), I just wanted to play. I wanted to do what I was doing in training and not do anything extra. I only wanted a good throw and I got that with 85.69m, which felt good because I wasn’t going that far in training.

“If I had been 4th or even 3rd position earlier, I would have never accepted it. For that matter, I would have never accepted an 85m throw either. But this time I knew my situation, where I was coming from, what I was coming back from. My preparation was good and I knew we have to move forward step by step. I was happy with whatever I got,” Neeraj told The Hindu on the sidelines of the Indian Athletics awards.

He had flown in earlier in the day and was scheduled to leave Sunday evening back to his training base in Switzerland, still undecided on his schedule for the days ahead leading up to the Commonwealth Games. He would be participating in a couple of Diamond League events and maybe a few others before the Asian Games, though.

“Right now, I am working on my training. The body is feeling better now. It’s not the same as it was before, I am not the old Neeraj but I am slowly coming back. It took a long time because it wasn’t just one injury, there were several. I had an Achilles injury in my blocking leg, in my back, I had some issues in my shoulder and elbow. And I have been having trouble with my groin for a long time.

“So after Tokyo, we decided to do rehab first, start slowly, not take any pressure and not be in a hurry to return to competition. Which is why I started throwing only in May this year, usually it starts in January itself. But such is the life of an athlete, you always carry your injuries like medals,” he laughed.

Going back to his senior and first coach Jaiveer Chaudhary has been sort of a homecoming for Neeraj. “We are already connected and I have been always been in touch with him and it feels good to get back together. After training with Jan Zelezny, I don’t think anything’s left to go out again with another foreign coach. There is a comfort level too with Jai. Most importantly, I have to work on my own ideas, my own thoughts and do what comes to me naturally. With Jai and Ishan (Marwaha, physio), I have a good team,” he added.

Asked about the rise of Rumesh Pathirage — the Sri Lankan has already won two Diamond League events this year, crossed the 92m mark and is the man to beat — Neeraj was all praise.

“Rumesh is very talented, I felt last year also that he would do well. I felt good to meet him again in Doha. It’s good that competition is increasing in javelin in South Asia and it will only help bring more attention to the sport in the region.”

Forced to delay the start of his season due to an injury, Indian javelin throw ace Neeraj Chopra finished fourth in the Doha Diamond League event in Doha on Friday (June 19, 2026).

The 28-year-old Chopra produced a best of 85.69m in his third attempt, which placed him fourth in the end in his season-opening event.

Chopra has been hampered by a back injury which he sustained before the World Championships in Tokyo in September 2025. He was competing here for the first time after finishing eighth in the World Championships. He has been training in Switzerland since May 25 after a rehabilitation stint in Turkiye.

Rising Sri Lankan star and world leader Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage won the title in the star-studded field with a throw of 88.68m, while two-time world champion Andersen Peters of Grenada was second with 86.38. American Curtis Thompson, who won a bronze in the Tokyo World Championships, was third with 85.99m.

Chopra, however, breached the 82.61m qualifying distance set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

He was earlier named in the 32-member Indian team for the Glasgow CWG (July 23 to August 2).

Chopra began with a foul and was placed fourth after his second round throw of 82.77m, which sealed his 2026 Commonwealth Games berth. He did even better in his third attempt, sending his spear to 85.69m, and jumping up one place to third.

But once the 23-year-old Pathirage took the lead with his fourth round throw of 88.68m, Chopra was pushed down to fourth place.

Pathirage, who has been in the form of his life this season, was at the fourth spot at the halfway stage, after modest throws of 82.62m, 84.63m and 80.53m. But he proved why he is the hottest javelin thrower this season with his fourth round effort of 88.68m, which was followed up by 84.47m and 81.35m.

This was his second DL win. He had won the title in Rome earlier this month with a monster throw of 92.62m which is the currently the world leading distance. He became only the fourth Asian and 28th overall to breach the coveted 90m mark. He has had two more 89m-plus throws this season. He had come into the Doha DL after winning the prestigious Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czechia, with a throw of 86.57m.

For Chopra, the lengthy injury-forced absence from competition affected his rhythm, and he could not replicate his stunning performance here last year, when he breached the coveted 90m mark with a throw of 90.23m, while finishing second.

It was only the third meeting between Chopra and Pathirage and their first on the Diamond League stage. The head-to-head record now stands 2-1 in favour of the Sri Lankan.

Chopra won gold in the NC Classic which he hosted in Bengaluru in July 2025, while Pathirage had finished third with 84.34m.

In the Tokyo World Championships last year, Chopra ended a disappointing eighth while Pathirage finished seventh 84.38m.

Neeraj Chopra who will make his first competitive public appearance in almost nine months on Friday, admitted it had been a long, introspective hiatus with several changes, declared he was fit and raring to go and confirmed that the Asian Games was definitely part of his plans for the year ahead.

Speaking to select media via video call ahead of his season opener at the Doha Diamond League, Neeraj was candid enough to acknowledge that it was a last-minute decision to participate.

“I am a little nervous talking to so many people after such a long time! We started throwing one and half months ago and took our time. I talked to the Doha organisers and asked them if it was possible if I let them know in a very short period, like one week before (the event). They said yes and then we decided after my last session, let’s compete in Doha,” Neeraj explained.

His last outing was at the Tokyo World Championships in September 2025, where Neeraj finished a disappointing eighth, and admitted in hindsight it was perhaps not the best decision.

“I had some injury before Tokyo, we worked on it and I competed but I don’t think it was a good decision. I knew I had a problem but I still went ahead because it was the last competition of the season.

“As athletes, there is always some niggle we struggle with, we try to save that injury and we feel another one. So then I had in my ankle, then somewhere in the shoulder. Then I sat with my team, my physio and we worked on every part.”

Asked about his training so far and the split from the legendary Jan Zelezny after just one season, Chopra insisted he was now in a good space.

“Jan Zelzny was a great athlete and he was a really good coach also but we worked on few specific things. I’m happy that I could break the 90m mark with him.

“After Tokyo, I had to stay in one place for the season and that was not possible for me. So we decided that maybe I need to work with my ideas and now I work with my Indian coach (Jaiveer Chaudhary).

“I’m working on my natural technique. He is my senior, I started javelin with him. Now we are working on what I had originally when I started. We are not working on anything specific or very deep. I have a good team around me, I feel very good,” he said, revealing that the Asian Games were part of his calendar for the year.

The decade-long partnership between Neeraj Chopra and JSW Sports is formally over.

The star javelin thrower, one of its earliest signings as a teenager, and JSW officially announced the decision along with the announcement of Chopra launching his own athlete management firm, Vel Sports. The contract between the two reportedly ran out in December 2025 with both sides agreeing to not renew it.

Neeraj’s association with JSW Sports began in 2016 after being scouted through the Sports Excellence Programme and saw the athlete through the biggest moments of his career, and Indian athletics, including gold at the Tokyo Olympics and silver in Paris with the World Championship crown in between in 2023 besides winning the Diamond League in 2022.

Talk of Chopra taking a more active entrepreneurial responsibility had been around ever since the NC Classic last year, which he practically micro-managed first in Panchkula and then in Bengaluru. While it has not been announced yet, sources have also confirmed that Chopra is keen on developing a track & field High Performance Centre as well in the near future.

“Working with Neeraj has been an incredible experience for all of us at JSW Sports. His success story reflects our shared philosophy of excellence and purpose. We’re immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together and wish him continued success in all his future pursuits,” CEO JSW Sports CEO Divyanshu Singh said in a statement.

“Over the last decade, our journey together has been one of growth, belief, and achievement. JSW Sports has played a defining role in my career, and I’ll always remain grateful for their support and vision. As we conclude this chapter, I carry forward the same values into the next phase of my journey,” Chopra, a Lt. Colonel in the Indian Army, said.