Paulino, El Bakkali victorious as Tharanga pips Chopra in Doha Diamond League

DOHA, June 19 : Paris Olympics champion Marileidy Paulino soared ahead of her competitors to clinch a dominant 400m victory at the Doha Diamond League, while Sri Lankan javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga took the win over two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra on Friday.

A late challenge in the 3000m steeplechase tested two-time Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali, but the Moroccan ultimately prevailed. Fans at the Khalifa International Stadium were left disappointed as Mutaz Barshim missed out on a home soil victory in the men's high jump.

The Dominican Republic's Paulino, a two-time 400m Olympic medallist, shot to the front and kept her lead to finish in 48.91 seconds, leaving second-placed Natalia Bukowiecka trailing by more than a second.

"I wanted to open with 48 seconds and I succeeded," she said.

Tharanga was equally dominant as he threw 88.68m in his fourth attempt, leaving Anderson Peters more than two metres behind to take victory.

Former Olympic champion Chopra, competing for the first time this year after being sidelined with multiple injuries, threw 85.69m to finish fourth.

"I'm glad I had a win today... it was one of my dreams to compete here as the first ever Sri Lankan in the Diamond League circuit," said 23-year-old Tharanga, who threw a season-leading 92.62m in Rome earlier this month.

Barshim, who came back from a long-term foot injury last month, cleared 2.27m in the high jump but could not match Italian Matteo Sioli's 2.29m clearance, settling for second place.

"It is a very, very good start of the season for me. I've been away for a long time, and coming back to the world stage is nothing easy after so many injuries... you need a few competitions to get back to the rhythm," he said.

El Bakkali was in his