Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra marked his return to competition with a fourth-place finish in the Doha Diamond League on Friday, producing a best throw of 85.69m in his season-opening event after a lengthy injury lay-off.

The 28-year-old, who had delayed the start of his campaign because of a back injury sustained before the World Championships in Tokyo last year, delivered his best effort in the third round. The throw was enough to surpass the Athletics Federation of India’s qualifying standard of 82.61m for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2.

Chopra, already named in India’s 32-member squad for the Games, opened with a foul before recording 82.77m in his second attempt to secure qualification. He improved to 85.69m in the third round and briefly occupied third place before being pushed down the standings later in the competition.

Sri Lanka’s rising star Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage claimed the title with a throw of 88.68m. Two-time world champion Andersen Peters of Grenada finished second with 86.38m, while American Curtis Thompson took third place with 85.99m.

“Happy to be back on the field. 85.69m felt good, and ready for the season ahead!” Chopra posted on social media after the event.

The result ended Chopra’s remarkable run of top-two finishes in Diamond League meetings over the past four years. Since finishing second in Stockholm in June 2022, the Olympic champion had not placed outside the top two in any Diamond League event he contested.

Pathirage, who has emerged as one of the world’s leading javelin throwers this season, produced the winning throw in the fourth round after modest earlier efforts. The 23-year-old had already won the Rome Diamond League earlier this month with a world-leading throw of 92.62m and arrived in Doha after victory at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava.

The Doha event marked only the third meeting between Chopra and Pathirage. The Sri Lankan now leads their head-to-head record 2-1.

For Chopra, the performance represented an encouraging return after months of rehabilitation in Turkey and training in Switzerland. Although he could not match the 90.23m throw he achieved in Doha last year, the Indian will take confidence from an 85m-plus effort as he builds towards the Commonwealth Games and the remainder of the season.