That other popular Java-platform languages exist indeed shows that the Java language is too conservative for some, but that 90% use the Java language shows that its design is in line with what most people want.
And the CLR is about, oh, ten-fifteen years behind OpenJDK in compilation, GC and low-overhead deep profiling and observability. OpenJDK's C2 compiler is pretty much on par with clang in terms of optimisation [1] -- ahead on some, behind on others -- and in terms of sheer innovation and potential, its Graal compiler is probably the biggest breakthrough in compilation of the decade.