Neeraj Chopra and Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage will renew their rivalry at the Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland on Friday, with qualification for the Diamond League Final in Brussels on the line.The two will meet again just three weeks after the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where Pathirage won the gold medal and Chopra finished with silver.Pathirage has been one of the top performers this season. The 23-year-old has won the Diamond League meets in Doha and Rome, apart from taking gold in Glasgow with a throw of 89.75m. He also crossed the 90-metre mark for the first time this season with a throw of 92.62m in Rome in June.He has won eight of the nine competitions he has competed in this season.Chopra, meanwhile, is continuing his return after recovering from a lower back injury that has troubled him since September last year.The injury delayed his comeback until the Doha Diamond League. He was not fully fit during the Commonwealth Games but still managed a silver medal with a season-best throw of 85.83m.“I can’t say my fitness is there like before. But I’m getting there slowly,” the 28-year-old Chopra had said at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.After Glasgow, Chopra returned to his training base in Biel, Switzerland, where he has been continuing rehabilitation and training with his childhood coach Jaiveer Chaudhary and physiotherapist Ishan Marwah.He will look to improve further when he competes in Lausanne.Chopra has been one of the most consistent javelin throwers in recent years. Over the last five years, the two-time Olympic medallist has finished outside the top two in only two competitions.
When and where to watch
The Lausanne Diamond League 2026 will not be telecast on television in India. The event will be live streamed on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel in India.
