Neeraj Chopra’s homecoming delayed after Paris Olympics 2024 – Report reveals grim reason

PTI, Aug 12, 2024, 7:31 PM IST

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has left for Germany after winning a silver medal in the Paris Games to take medical advice regarding a possible surgery and to decide whether to feature in the upcoming Diamond League meetings, according to sources. A family source told PTI that he has left for Germany and is unlikely to return to India for at least one month.

In Paris, Indian Olympic Association sources also confirmed that Chopra has left for Germany. ” Chopra has left for Germany and he will not return to India for another month and a half,” a family source told PTI. “I am not aware of the much of the details, but for sure he will consult a doctor there (Germany),” he added.

After winning at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland in June, Chopra had said that he would consult doctors after the Paris Olympics to deal with his injury.

He had won the World Championships in 2023 while carrying the groin injury. Before the Paris Olympics this year, he took a break of more than one month due to adductor muscle niggle.

The 26-year-old Chopra had earlier also consulted a doctor in Germany regarding his injury. He also had a short training stint in Saarbrucken in Germany last month before the Olympics.

During the Paris Olympics, Chopra had expressed his desire to play in the Diamond League Final to be held in Brussels, Belgium, on September 14. For that to happen, he will have to play at least one DL Meeting — either in Lausanne on August 22 or in Zurich on September 5.

“His team (of coach and physio) will decide whether he will play in the DL Meetings (and the DL Final), according to his condition,” the family source said.

Chopra has played in just one Diamond League Meeting — on May 10 in Doha where he had finished second to reigning DL trophy winner Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic. Chopra, who had won the DL Trophy in 2022, is currently at joint fourth position with seven points in the DL Final points standings.

The top six finishers in the DL Meetings series will compete in the DL Final. If he misses both Lausanne and Zurich, Chopra might miss the top-six spot.

After winning a silver in the Olympics with a season’s best throw of 89.45m, Chopra had hinted that he would have to undergo surgery on his groin injury, which has been troubling him for the last couple of years.

Chopra had revealed that when he was throwing, 60-70 per cent focus was on his injury. He said his doctor had told him to undergo surgery before the World Championships last year but he did not do so in view of the Paris Olympics.