PARIS, June 21: India’s javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra returned to winning ways with a commanding performance at the Paris leg of the Diamond League on Friday, clinching his first Diamond League title in two years by defeating Germany’s Julian Weber. Chopra secured victory with an impressive first-round throw of 88.16 meters, outpacing a highly competitive field that included five athletes from the elite 90m club.

This marked Chopra’s first-ever win in the Paris leg of the prestigious Diamond League series. He had last competed in the Paris meet in 2017 as a junior world champion, finishing fifth with a throw of 84.67m.

Weber, who had bested Chopra in both the Doha Diamond League and the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet earlier this season, settled for second place with an opening throw of 87.88m. Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio Da Silva secured third with a throw of 86.62m in the third round.

Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion, followed up his winning first attempt with 85.10m on his second try, then fouled three consecutive rounds before finishing with 82.89m in his final effort. Despite the mixed series, his opening throw proved unbeatable.

Earlier this season, Chopra had breached the 90m mark for the first time at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, launching a massive 90.23m throw to finish second behind Weber, who won with a dramatic final round effort of 91.06m. Weber also edged out Chopra in Poland on May 23, where chilly and overcast conditions saw both underperform — Weber with 86.12m and Chopra with 84.14m.

Chopra’s previous Diamond League title came in Lausanne in June 2023, where he threw 87.66m. Since then, he had settled for second place in six consecutive Diamond League meetings before finally reclaiming the top spot in Paris.

The Indian star began his 2025 season with a title at an invitational meet in Potchefstroom, South Africa, a category F event, where he threw 84.52m.

Next, Chopra is set to compete at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 24, before hosting and participating in the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic — a World Athletics Category A event — in Bengaluru on July 5.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Chopra on his recent performances and his historic 90m breakthrough, calling him an inspiration to millions of young athletes across the country.