Neeraj Chopra dismisses groin injury fears, confirms Lausanne Diamond League participation

Neeraj Chopra’s year has been marred by a recurring injury which has limited his competitive appearances.

Neeraj Chopra during the men’s Javelin throw event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR/The Hindu

Paris Olympics silver-medallist Neeraj Chopra on Saturday allayed fears of a serious groin injury and said he will compete at the upcoming Diamond League meet in Lausanne on August 22.

“I will be playing in Lausanne. Luckily, the (groin) injury was not 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,” Neeraj said.

The reigning World Champion’s year has been marred by a recurring injury which has limited his competitive appearances. After his silver medal in Paris earlier this month, the 26-year-old had hinted that he will consider drawing his season to an early close and undergo a surgery.

“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,” Neeraj said.

Despite lacking full fitness, Neeraj landed a season-best throw of 89.45 metres in the final to secure India’s first back-to-back Olympic medal in athletics. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem broke the Olympic record with a massive 92.97-metre attempt and took the javelin crown from Neeraj.

On his performance in Paris, Neeraj said: “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’s sole outing in the Diamond League came in May this year in Doha, where he finished second with a best attempt of 88.36 metres. The Zurich Diamond League meet will be held on September 5 before the final in Brussels on September 14.