Neeraj Chopra kicked off his 2024 athletics season by finishing second at the Doha Diamond League meet. A mere two centimetres kept Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra from winning the men’s javelin throw event at his first competition of 2024, held at the Doha Diamond League on Friday.

His best throw of the night was an 88.36 metres attempt. Neeraj produced it with his final attempt of the night. But it fell two centimetres short of Tokyo Olympics silver winner Jakub Vadlejch’s winning effort of 88.38 metres.

On the other hand, Neeraj Chopra's compatriot and the 2023 Asian Games silver medalist, Kishore Jena, ended ninth in the 10-man standings with a best attempt of 76.31m on the night. He was eliminated after three throws.

"I was expecting more distance," Neeraj told NNIS Sports after the event. "But I'm happy with my consistency. No problem, it's my first competition of the season. The best thing is my body is not feeling well; despite that, I managed to throw 88.36m. I will do well in the upcoming competitions."

"I am satisfied with my performance, but I wasn't satisfied with my efforts, and I was expecting more distance. I think in the last throw, the effort was not that much from my side. As I said, we have many more tournaments to come, so I will work on that." The 26-year-old added.

Following this, Neeraj Chopra is set to compete at the 27th National Federation Cup Athletics Championships in Odisha. The event will take place from May 12 to May 15 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.

"It's too early to think about Bhubaneswar. Four to five days are left, and I request people to please come and watch and support us", Neeraj signed off.

Despite narrowly missing the top spot in Doha, Neeraj Chopra remains optimistic and focused on improving for future competitions.