Neeraj Chopra to take on Rumesh Pathirage and elite field at Lausanne Diamond League

Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will compete in the Lausanne Diamond League (Athletissima) on August 21, where he is scheduled to face Commonwealth Games champion and world leader Rumesh Pathirage and a strong men's javelin cast.

Chopra's appearance in Lausanne will be his third competition since returning from a lower-back injury that sidelined him in September last year. He opened this season with an 85.69m throw to finish fourth at the Doha Diamond League in June and then improved to a season-best 85.83m to win silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, a meet that concluded on Sunday (August 2, 2026). "Although we always want the National anthem to play, I did my season's best and the comeback is going okay. There are other competitions as well. I am happy," Chopra had said after his silver in Glasgow.

The Lausanne field will include Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany alongside Pathirage. The meet will feature five athletes who took part in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Also entered are Tokyo Olympic silver-medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, Germany's Julian Weber, Switzerland's Simon Wieland and American Curtis Thompson, who is described in the entry list as "the world No. 2 this season." The organisers highlighted the quality of the entry, saying: "The five javelin superstars, who have won the last four editions of the Olympic Games and World Championships, will be present at Athletissima on August 21 for a competition of extraordinary quality."

Chopra has previous history at Lausanne, finishing runner-up in 2024 with a career fourth-best throw of 89.49m and winning the Athletissima title in 2022 with an 89.08m effort. Those marks are noted in his meet record and underline his past competitiveness at this venue.

Pathirage arrives in form after capturing the Commonwealth Games title with a throw of 89.75m and holds a personal best of 92.62m, recorded at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Roma in June. The Sri Lankan is the only athlete in the entry list this season to have exceeded the 90m mark.

All named javelin competitors are due to contest the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne on August 21, where Chopra and Pathirage will meet again on the Diamond League stage.