No 90m this time but Chopra beats Weber to win first Diamond League title in two years
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Paris (PTI): Olympic medal-winning Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra clinched his first Diamond League title in two years, upstaging German rival Julian Weber without having to hit the 90m mark in a strong field here.
The 27-year-old Chopra won the title late on Friday night with his first round throw of 88.16m in a star-studded field, which featured five from the coveted 90m club.
His second throw measured 85.10m and he then fouled his next three attempts before recording 82.89m in his sixth and final effort.
Weber was second with his opening throw of 87.88m, while Luiz Mauricio Da Silva of Brazil was third with his third round attempt of 86.62m.
"I am happy with my throw....My run-up was really fast today. I can't control my speed, but I'm happy with the result and with the first position," the Haryana-lad, who has a gold and silver in back-to-back Olympics, told the broadcaster.
Chopra had won his last DL title in Lausanne in June 2023 with a throw of 87.66m. After that, he finished second in six DL meetings.
This was his first win in the Paris leg of the prestigious series. He last competed in the Paris DL in 2017 as a junior world champion and finished fifth with a throw of 84.67m.
"I will compete in Ostrava (Golden Spike athletic meet) after four days on the 24th of June. So I need some recovery," he said of his upcoming schedule which also includes the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru on July 5 -- a World Athletics category A event which he is hosting.
Chopra had breached the 90m mark in the Doha leg of the Diamond League on May 16 with a throw of 90.23m for a second place finish. Weber had won the title in Doha with his last round throw of 91.06m.
" I'm hoping for some 90 metre throws because I broke that barrier in Doha. So now I believe I can do it some more...But let's see, it depends on weather and good conditions, how the body feels, but maybe I will throw far in this season," he said.
The 31-year-old Weber had also beaten Chopra at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet on May 23 in Poland where both performed below their best under chilly and overcast conditions.
Weber had produced 86.12m while Chopra could only come up 84.14m to finish second.
The Indian began the 2025 season with a title in an invitational meet at Potchefstroom, South Africa, which was a minor (category F) event with a throw of 84.52m.
In Paris, the three others, apart from Chopra and Weber, who had previously hit the 90m mark were Kenya's 2015 world champion Julius Yego, Trinidad and Tobago's 2012 Olympics gold-winner Keshorn Walcott and Grenada's Anderson Peters.
While Walcott (81.66m) finished fourth, Peters (80.29m) and Yego (80.26m) took the fifth and sixth spot respectively on Friday.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
