Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic javelin champion, is putting his focus on regaining full fitness after securing a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 26-year-old athlete has been candid about the impact of an injury on his training, stating that it has significantly hampered his practice throws and affected his speed. Despite the setback, Chopra remains optimistic about improving his performance once he overcomes his groin injury.
“First, I want to get fit. I’m throwing well and with consistency, and if I can improve my technique and sort out my injury, I can do even better. My coach always says that if the blocking leg starts working and the groin injury gets better, I can still better my throw by over four meters,” said Chopra. “I’ve been throwing constantly over 88 meters for some years now, and in javelin, if everything works, then it can increase distance by two, three, even four meters,” he added.
Chopra also shed light on his struggles on the runway during the Paris Olympics, noting that several of his throws were ruled as fouls during the finals. “I was missing the mark of crossover steps (from which the athlete continues running but the body turns to the side in position to slingshot the javelin), and I was struggling with the foul line tonight (Thursday). A few of my throws were called foul throws, and it started to play on my mind because it doesn’t happen to me. Along with my injury, the fouls had an adverse mental effect during the event on me. When you try to save yourself from fouls, then it hinders the throw,” he explained.
Despite his injuries, Chopra emphasized his dedication to competing and shared that he participated in several tournaments despite not being fully fit. “I want to play all the time. I work really hard on my game to compete. I had to withdraw from several tournaments due to injuries, and for that, you need to write to them, and I don’t like that. I played several tournaments without being fully fit out of compulsion after registering. I didn’t want to disappoint the organizers,” he revealed.
