Neeraj Chopra set for return to action at Doha Diamond League 2026 after injury layoff
New Delhi, June 15
Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is set to begin his 2026 athletics season at the Doha Diamond League 2026 in Qatar on Friday, after organisers confirmed his inclusion in the competition's entry list released on Monday, according to Olympics.com.
The Doha event will be Chopra's first competition of the 2026 season after spending the off-season recovering from a back injury during a training camp in Switzerland. His last competitive appearance came at the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo last September.
Confirmation of Chopra's participation comes shortly after he was provisionally named in India's 32-member athletics squad for the Commonwealth Games 2026.
This will mark Chopra's fourth straight appearance at the Doha leg of the Diamond League. The two-time Olympic medallist won the Doha meet in 2023 with a throw of 88.67m, finished second in 2024 with 88.36m, and set a national record of 90.23m last year, though he was edged into second place by Julian Weber.
The men's javelin competition in Doha is expected to feature a strong field. While Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem has been withdrawn after initially being listed, Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage, the current world leader, will compete after producing a remarkable 92.62m throw at the Rome Diamond League 2026 earlier this month.
That performance moved Pathirage to eighth on the all-time world list and made him the second-best Asian performer in history behind Nadeem's 92.97m effort at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The field will also include reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott, former world champions Anderson Peters and Julius Yego, as well as Curtis Thompson and Olympic and world silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch.
The Doha meet is the seventh stop on the 2026 Diamond League circuit, which will conclude with the season finale in Brussels on September 4 and 5.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Amazing to see him back! But looking at that field - Walcott, Peters, Yego, and now Pathirage throwing 92m+ - this is going to be his toughest Doha yet. The competition level is just insane right now in javelin.
The fact that Neeraj's national record of 90.23m only got him second place last year shows how strong the field is. Rumesh Pathirage's 92.62m is scary good. But our boy has the big-meet temperament - Olympics and Worlds medalist for a reason! 💪
One concern though - he's coming back from a back injury and jumping straight into Diamond League competition against world-class throwers. Hope the Athletics Federation of India and his team have managed his workload properly. CWG 2026 is more important than one Diamond League meet.
Honestly, even if he doesn't win, seeing him compete again will be a win. After that Tokyo gold and Paris silver, he's already a legend. But knowing Neeraj, he'll want to send a message to everyone that he's still the man to beat. Excited for Friday! 🎯
Interesting that Arshad Nadeem was withdrawn from the entry list. Would have been great to see another India-Pakistan showdown. But with Pathirage in such red-hot form, this competition will be electric anyway. Wishing Neeraj a safe and strong comeback! 🇮🇳
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