Neeraj Chopra confronts a scare two months before the Olympics: Neeraj Chopra, the top medal contender for India, has withdrawn from the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event in Ostrava, Czech Republic, due to soreness in his adductor muscles, exactly two months before the Olympics in Paris. The health scare occurs near the end of a busy month in which the gold medallist in javelin at the Tokyo Olympics competed in two events that were held within four days of each other: the Doha Diamond League and the Bhubaneswar Federation Cup.
In a social media post, Neeraj revealed that following a recent throwing practice, he “felt something” in his adductor and wasn’t taking the chance to compete due to previous issues with the muscle. “I have to make this choice even though I’m not hurt because I don’t want to take any chances during the Olympic year. “I’ll resume competing as soon as I feel fully recovered,” he remarked.
“Back-to-back competitions” were cited by Manisha Malhotra, the head of Sports Excellence and Scouting at JSW Sports, the company that oversees Chopra, as the cause of the withdrawal. Due to adductor discomfort and exhaustion from competing in back-to-back tournaments in Doha and Bhubaneshwar, Neeraj had to withdraw. Following the Federation Cup in Bhubaneshwar, he returned to Poland to resume his training. Neeraj is being cautious by missing the meet. Next month, in Turku, he is expected to compete in the Paavo Nurmi Games,” Malhotra told The Indian Express.
Given the shortfall in Neeraj’s preparation leading up to the Olympics from July 26 to August 11, it begs the question: Why did the best javelin thrower in the world compete in a home competition like the Fed Cup in Bhubaneshwar?
The renowned javelin thrower’s original itinerary did not include the Federation Cup, but it has been revealed that he decided to go after speaking with senior Athletics Federation of India (AFI) officials. During the interview, Chopra stated that his training and competition schedule in Europe would be disrupted if he took part in the Inter-State Championships in Panchkula, which are required by AFI rules for all competitors headed to the Olympics.
He chose to attend the Fed Cup instead, making the detour to Bhubaneshwar after the Diamond League in Doha. Neeraj’s adductor reportedly erupted following the Fed Cup final, which was his first domestic competition since the Tokyo Olympics.
Radhakrishnan Nair, the head national coach of AFI, provided a timeline of the incidents. “We held a meeting two weeks prior to the Federation Cup, and Neeraj, Lalit Bhanot, the head of the AFI planning panel, and I attended. Neeraj announced during that meeting that he would not be able to compete in the Inter-State Championships due to competitions in Finland on June 18 and July 7. Neeraj was also advised more than two months ago that all athletes are required to compete in the Inter-State competition according to AFI policy. Neeraj then suggested that he play in the Federation Cup in its place, and his coach concurred that they should attend. Thus, AFI said, “It’s okay,” Nair stated to The Indian Express.
Neeraj is not exempt: AFI
When asked if Neeraj, a gold medallist in both the Olympics and the World Championships, should have been exempted, head coach Nair responded, “No, everyone must participate this year.” Neeraj and other athletes were told about this more than two months ago.
One day prior to the men’s javelin final, on May 14, Chopra arrived in Bhubaneswar. He missed the final two rounds and took home the gold with a fourth-round throw of 82.27 meters, well short of his lifetime best of 89.94 meters. Neeraj and five other athletes participated in a Puma promotional shoot that same evening following the championship game.
The AFI declared the following day that 400 Indian athletes would receive clothing, accessories, and shoes from Puma as part of their agreement. Neeraj was in front of the camera on May 16, the day following the Puma advertising shoot, for an Indian Olympic Association shoot in Bhubaneshwar. There was also a slot available for JSW Inspire Apparel.
Chief national coach Nair refuted the claim that Neeraj’s Federation Cup participation was related to the partnership between Puma and the AFI.
Neeraj placed second in the Doha Diamond League, his first tournament of the year, with a throw of 88.36 meters. With a throw of 88.38 meters, Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic—who won a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics—won the tournament in the capital city of Qatar.
