Neeraj Chopra begins Diamond League title defence with win in Doha
Doha, May 5: Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra began his Diamond League title defence with a comfortable win in the season-opening leg here on Friday, with a world leading and fourth career-best effort.
The 25-year-old Chopra, who had pocketed the 2022 Diamond League Final trophy in Switzerland in September last, beat a star-studded field with a best throw of 88.67m to begin his season in style.
Chopra hit his straps in his first attempt itself with a world-leading throw of 88.67m, which was his fourth career-best effort to position himself on the top of the pile. He maintained the lead till the end to win the event in his second appearance at the Qatar Sports Club.
He had finished fourth in his first appearance here in 2018.
Silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic went agonisingly close to Chopra's best mark with a second round throw of 88.63m, four centimeter short of the Indian's effort.
Vadlejch had also won silver in the Tokyo Olympics. He had also won a silver in the Doha Diamond League last year with a 90.88m throw.
Reigning world champion Anderson Peters, who had won the event here last year with a monster throw of 93.07m, finished third with a modest best throw of 85.88m.
Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m, could not sustain the tempo of his first attempt as he could only send the spear to 86.04m and then to 85.47m before fouling his throw in the fourth. He managed 84.37m and 85.62m in his fifth and sixth attempts.
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Suvendu Adhikari says Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel taught Gaza”
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”
Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.
The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.
Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.
Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.
Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.
The @BJP4India’s Bengal ‘face’ wants a Gaza like operation against Bangladesh. Dog whistles that the @narendramodi government is for ‘Hindus’ only. Do you concur with this @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar ? Dirty politics of Divide and Rule won’t work in Bengal, @SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/vLWm9b3AXb
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 27, 2025
