Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra has allayed fears of a serious groin injury and confirmed his participation in the upcoming Diamond League meet in Lausanne on August 22. Chopra, the reigning World Champion, had initially hinted at a possible early end to his season and surgery after securing a silver medal at the Paris Olympics earlier this month. However, he has since revealed that the injury has not worsened and he will continue competing.
“I will be playing in Lausanne. Luckily, the (groin) injury was not get aggravated after the Paris Olympics. After the last (Tokyo) Olympics, we thought we should have continued with the season and not stopped. So, I decided to not come to India and continue with my season,” Chopra said.
The 26-year-old has been battling a recurring injury throughout the year, limiting his competitive appearances. Despite lacking full fitness, he managed to secure a season-best throw of 89.45 meters in the Paris Olympics final, earning India its first back-to-back Olympic medal in athletics. While he fell short of the Olympic record, set by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem with a massive 92.97-meter throw, Chopra remains positive about his performance.
“I am happy that I have been in that 88-to-90 metre corridor consistently. I was not targeting 90 either. But on that day, I had to go for the Olympic record after Arshad’s throw. If everything had been okay (with the injury), I could have got it. I think I lost a bit of focus in trying to go after that record. I will now work on my consistency and try to fix the small problems I have in my technique,” Neeraj said from Switzerland.
Chopra plans to continue his season with the Zurich Diamond League meet on September 5 and the final in Brussels on September 14. He will then undergo a final treatment after the season ends. “The final treatment will be after the season ends. There is just one month left. I will try to take care of it as much as possible and consult the doctors later. “I was thinking of just the Zurich Diamond League and the final. But thankfully, the injury is fine. It usually gets worse after competition but this time Ishan (Marwaha) bhai treated me in Paris. I would like to thank him. He has been with me since 2017 and has helped me through injuries and surgeries,” he added.
Despite his injury, Chopra remains committed to his sport and his fans can expect to see him compete at the highest level throughout the remainder of the season.
