Neeraj Chopra is familiar with achieving firsts, but Thursday night in Lausanne marked a unique milestone for him. It was his debut as the *former* Olympic champion. Just two weeks after losing the title to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, Neeraj returned to competition. Though he was dissatisfied with his performance at the Stade de France, he chose to participate in the Diamond League meet as he had not aggravated the groin injury that has plagued him for years. In his sixth and final attempt, Neeraj delivered a standout performance with a Season Best throw of 89.49m, securing second place behind Anderson Peters’ impressive 90.61m.
