Neeraj Chopra

Chopra, who has been bothered by an injury in the last few months, killed the competition in the Hungarian capital with a massive throw of 88.17 in his second turn,

Chopra hurled the spear to his season's and fourth career-best distance in the very first attempt, topping the Qualification Group A. In the process, the ace Indian breached the 2024 Paris Olympic qualification mark of 85.50m.

The season-best distance of 88.77m saw Chopra breaching Paris Olympic qualification mark of 85.50m. The qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics for track and field athletes began on July 1, 2023. 

Chopra, the Tokyo Olympic Games winner, the Diamond League Final winner, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist and the World Championship silver medallist, has faced questions for the last many months on when he would be able to cross the 90 m distance in international competitions.

Chopra, India's best hope for a medal, will lead the charge in the men's javelin throw, hoping to improve on the silver medal he won in Eugene last year and will have compatriots Kishore Jena and D.P. Manu will also be in contention. Chopra has excelled on the international stage, winning the Golden League Final in Zurich. In May this year, he won gold in the Doha Dimond League with a throw of 88.67m.

The 25-year-old Chopra returned to action at Lausanne after a month-long break due to a muscle strain that he picked while winning the season-opening Diamond League event in Doha in May. In Lausanne, he started with a four and could manage only 83.52m in his second attempt as he trailed Julian Weber (86.20m) of Germany and Jakub Vadlejch (84.71m) of the Czech Republic.

Due to a muscle strain he sustained while training last month, the 25-year-old Indian Javelin thrower had skipped three top events earlier. But he came back with a bang as he won the Diamond League title here with his fifth-round throw of 87.66m.