With season-best throw, Neeraj comes within 9 cm of beating Rumesh Pathirage

Neeraj Chopra nearly broke Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage's record at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting, coming within just nine centimeters of his throw. Pathirage, who had dominated the past eight months of competitions, won the event with his 88.14-meter throw, a mere nine centimeters shy of Chopra's season-best of 88.05 meters.

Chopra led the event after two of the nine competitors' throws, thanks to his impressive 88.05-meter throw. However, Pathirage's impressive performance in the third round of throws secured him the victory. The two-time Olympic medalist, who had returned to action after nine months of injury, expressed his happiness with his performance, stating that the 88-meter throw felt more relaxed than expected.

Pathirage's success adds to his already impressive track record, as he had previously won the Commonwealth Games gold with just one legal throw. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem and Germany's Julian Weber, who were also in contention for the Asian Games, opted not to compete at the Lausanne event.