Neeraj Chopra gets brutally honest after Paris Diamond League triumph, criticises himself: ‘Yes, I need some more…’

Neeraj Chopra came out on top in Paris, beating arch-rival Julian Weber. But both athletes failed to get past the 90m mark.

Neeraj Chopra reigned supreme at the Paris Diamond League 2025 on Friday, coming out on top against Germany’s Julian Weber. It was Chopra’s first Diamond League title in two years, as his first throw of 88.16m saw him grab the title. Meanwhile, Weber came second with his opening throw of 87.88m, followed by Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio Da Silva (86.62m in his second attempt).

Neeraj Chopra in action at the Paris Diamond League. (HT_PRINT)

After his win, Chopra was happy with his performance, and pointed out that his run-up was ‘really fast’. Speaking in an interview, he said, “I’m happy with the throw. It was my first throw and it was good start, and I was hoping for the throw to be really good today. My run-up was really fast today. I can’t control my speed. But I’m happy with the result and first position.”

Neeraj Chopra's self-criticism

The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist also thinks that he needs ‘more control’ if he is to be more consistent in crossing the 90m mark. He had breached the 90m mark in the Doha recently, with a throw of 90.23m.

“Yes, I need some more control when I throw, like on the attack. We are working on it in training, but still, there are so many things we have to change, and I need maybe a stronger core and stronger body for throwing,” he said.

“It’s just a matter of time and rhythm… getting more and more competitions.

“…like timing, because I feel really good (in the) run-up, but the timing was not so good when I threw (the javelin). I quickly go left, and it is not good. I need to throw to the front, like with the chest, and go up with the javelin. We are working on it,” he added.

Chopra’s second throw in Paris saw him reach 85.10m, and then he fouled in his next three attempts. his final throw was 82.89m.