India’s Neeraj Chopra returned to action from a lengthy injury layoff with a fourth-placed finish in the men’s javelin throw competition at the Doha Diamond League 2026 in Qatar on Friday.
Competing for the first time since recovering from a back injury, Neeraj Chopra recorded a best effort of 85.69m at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium. The Indian javelin ace last competed at the World Championships in September.
The Indian athlete, however, comfortably surpassed India’s qualification standard for the Commonwealth Games 2026 set at 82.61m with the evening’s second attempt, logged at 82.77m.
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga finished first with a best throw of 88.68m, while former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was second with 86.38m. USA’s Curtis Thompson claimed third spot with 85.99m.
This was Tharanga’s second Diamond League win this month after he stunned the athletics world with a massive 92.62m throw at the Rome Diamond League.
On Friday, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra recovered from an opening no-mark to find his range with a throw of 82.77m, surpassing the Athletics Federation of India’s Commonwealth Games qualifying standard.
The 28-year-old Neeraj was provisionally named in India’s 32-member athletics squad for Commonwealth Games 2026 but still needed to breach the qualification standard to confirm his selection.
Neeraj improved to his best effort of 85.69m with his third attempt and also threw 83.45 on his fourth, making all three of his legal throws above the Indian Commonwealth Games qualification standard.
The Doha Diamond League has been a happy hunting ground for Neeraj in the past. He won the event in 2023 and finished second in both 2024 and 2025.
Last year, Neeraj produced a national record throw of 90.23m in Doha to finally breach the coveted 90m barrier only to settle for second place behind Germany’s Julian Weber.
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