Neeraj-Pathirage showdown yet again in Lausanne Diamond League

Lausanne (PTI): The budding rivalry between rising Sri Lankan star Rumesh Pathirage and Indian ace Neeraj Chopra will once again be an intriguing battle when the two square off in the Lausanne Diamond League meet here on Friday with a spot in the DL grand finale in Brussels at stake.

The duo will be up against each other three weeks after Pathirage clinched the gold and Chopra finished with a silver in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

The 23-year-old Pathirage has been in the form of his life this season, having also won the Doha and Rome Diamond League meetings, besides clinching gold in Glasgow with a throw of 89.75m. He also breached the coveted 90m mark with a season-leading throw of 92.62m in Rome in June.

In fact, the Sri Lankan has won eight of the nine competitions he has participated so far in the season.

Chopra, on the other hand, is on a comeback trail after recovering from a lower back injury that has troubled him since September last year.

The injury delayed his return until the Diamond League in Doha. He was not 100 per cent fit in Glasgow but was able to win a silver with a season's best throw of 85.83m.

"I can't say my fitness is there like before. But I'm getting there slowly," the 28-year-old Chopra had said at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

After the Commonwealth Games, Chopra has gone back to his base in Biel, Switzerland, where he is continuing his rehabilitation-cum-training with childhood coach Jaiveer Chaudhary and physio Ishan Marwah.

He would be hoping to make further improvement in the three weeks after Glasgow CWG.

One of the most consistent javelin throwers ever, two-time Olympic medallist Chopra has finished outside the top-two in just two competitions in the last five years.

Athletics Federation of India selection committee chairman Adille Sumariwalla has warned against writing off Chopra, saying the superstar Indian should not be scrutinised too harshly for winning a silver at times.

The Lausanne Diamond League was to see the most high-profile competition in recent memory but it has lost some sheen with the pulling out of the reigning world champion Arshad Nadeem and newly-crowned European champion Julian Weber of Germany.

Nadeem has been struggling since winning gold in the 2024 Olympics with a record throw of 92.97m. Since then, his best has been 86.40m while winning gold in the Asian Championships last year.

This season, his best has been 78.63m, and he finished ninth in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games with 77.41m.

Weber is the only second javelin thrower after Pathirage to have breached the 90m mark with his gold-winning 90.40m effort in the European Championships in Birmingham.

It's still a tough field with reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and Anderson Peters of Grenada -- the two time world champion and Paris Olympics bronze winner -- in the fray.

America's World Championships bronze-medallist Curtis Thompson and veteran Tokyo Olympics silver-winner Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic are also in the nine-man field.

For Chopra, the Lausanne meet is important to rise in the season-ending Diamond League Finals standings.

He is currently at the seventh spot with six points.

For jumps and throws, the top six in the standings will compete in the September 4-5 DL Finals in Brussels. One additional athlete per discipline may also compete via a national or global wildcard selection.

Pathirage and Peters have already qualified for the DL Finals after accumulating 23 and 22 points respectively. There is another DL meet which has men's javelin throw event in it -- in Zurich on August 27.

Chopra had won the DL Finals title in 2022, and finished second in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

A top-three finish in Lausanne could also take Chopra higher in the world rankings for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships to be held in Budapest from September 11 to 13.

Chopra is currently not among the top eight bracket eligible to compete in the prestigious prize-money event as he is in the ninth spot. Automatic slots have been handed to reigning Olympic and world champions while six others will enter based on world rankings in the qualification period of September 2, 2025 to September 1, 2026.

The Diamond League Final winner will also get a spot in the World Athletics Ultimate Championships.