Paris Diamond League: Neeraj Chopra shrugs off inexperience to finish fifth in 10-man elite field

Paris: Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished at a respectable fifth position in a 10-man elite field after producing a best effort of 84.67m at the prestigious Diamond League. [caption id=“attachment_3512465” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Neeraj Chopra. JSW Sports[/caption] The 19-year-old Neeraj, who has a personal best of 86.48m, managed a distance of 84.67m in his third attempt after starting with 79.54m in his first attempt. He threw 81.32m in the second attempt. However, the world junior champion managed 78.69m and 79.52m in the next two attempts to settle for a fifth position. Germany’s Johannes Vetter managed a distance of 88.74m to clinch the gold medal, Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch bagged the silver with a personal best throw of 88.02m, while Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany finished third with a best effort of 87.23m. Neeraj, ranked 12th in the season’s top list, was the youngest among the ten javelin throwers who competed at the Charlety Stadium in Paris on Saturday. Neeraj will next take part in the Asian Athletics Championship in Bhubaneswar from 6-9 July.