World junior champion Neeraj Chopra finished a respectable fifth in a 10-man strong field in his Diamond League debut in Paris on Saturday.
The 19-year-old javelin star registered a distance of 84.67 m in his third attempt after beginning his challenge with a throw of 79.54 and then improving to 81.32.
Chopra, however, failed to cross the 80-m mark in his remaining three attempts and had to settle for fifth spot, with Germany’s Johannes Vetter taking the gold with his very first throw of 88.74. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch finished second with a throw of 88.02, while Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany was third with a best of 87.23.
Chopra, who went into the tournament with a season’s best of 85.63, has been preparing for the World Championship scheduled to be held in London from August 4-13. He will now participate in the Asian Athletics Championship in Bhubaneswar from July 6-9.