After winning a silver medal in the Olympics, India’s top javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra talked candidly about his injury struggles. He said he may need surgery soon after exerting a great deal of physical effort to compete here while living in continual fear of giving up. In the lead-up to the Paris Games, Chopra was battling a bothersome adductor niggle, which is a condition involving the thigh muscles. However, he turned in a season-best performance of 89.45 meters to win the silver medal, becoming the first Indian track and field athlete to win two Olympic medals—the first being an unprecedented gold in Tokyo.
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, who broke the Olympic record with a throw of 92.97 meters to become the first individual Olympic gold champion from his nation, finished behind Chopra.”A lot is on my mind right now. I spend sixty to seventy percent of my attention on the injury when I throw. I want to avoid getting hurt. You’ll see that I move slowly whenever I try to toss. I’m challenging myself,” he declared.
The 2023 world championship, where he won gold, was mentioned. “The doctor told me to go for surgery but I didn’t have that much time to take that decision before the world championship or after the world championship because it takes a lot of time to prepare for the Olympics,” he continued.
Notwithstanding his lackluster performance in this competition, the 26-year-old succeeded PV Sindhu and Sushil Kumar as the only other Indians to win consecutive Olympic medals.
“I continue to challenge myself,” he stated, sounding a little irritated.
“In sports, pushing yourself too hard and keeping going is bad. You need to be in good health and shape to have a long career, but there are competitions where decision-making is impossible. We’ll focus on this and the method now,” he continued.Chopra stated that he will “take a decision” after consulting with his team.He also talked about how difficult the past seven years have been for him in terms of fitness.
I can’t relax until I receive a large throw.
Although he made no mention of the 90-meter threshold, Chopra stated that he had the ability to throw farther. Chopra’s best career jump is still 89.94 meters, which she attained in 2022.
“I feel like I still have a lot of throws left, especially considering the distance I had in me in 2016 and especially in 2018 when I won the Asian Games with an 88-meter score. I thus won’t be able to find calm till it occurs. He said, “And I want to tell you that there is a lot inside,” omitting any further details.
“And I’ll carry it out. I’ll keep my thoughts open to what lies ahead. I’ll get to work on things. I’ll continue to exercise.”
Not been able to toss as effectively
Chopra discussed how much the niggle has affected him, possibly for the first time.
“I can’t throw from a completely enclosed runway. For the previous year or two, I have been throwing. In a session, maximum throwers can throw 40–50 times. I was so afraid of being hurt that it took me two to three weeks to finish a lesson.”It is really challenging. I’m pulling it firmly.” He also clarified that in order to achieve the proper elevation and pace, his lower body is just as crucial as the throwing arm.
“If the legs don’t function properly, it gets wasted. Thus, a great deal of technical details. You won’t comprehend, therefore I won’t go into detail.” Chopra claimed that being concerned about his fitness makes missing competitions hard.
“My coach always tells me that if I get a good blocking leg and a good groin, the throw will be 2-3–4 meters ahead, and I have to apologize and withdraw.”
