After winning a silver medal with a throw of 89.45 meters at the Olympics, Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra has traveled to Germany. He went there to get medical advice about a possible surgery for his groin injury and to make decisions about participating in upcoming Diamond League events. Sources have confirmed this.
A family source told PTI that Neeraj has gone to Germany and is not expected to return to India for at least a month. Sources from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in Paris also confirmed that Neeraj has left for Germany. The family source mentioned, “Chopra has left for Germany and will not return to India for the next one and a half months.”
Neeraj had mentioned in June after his win at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland that he would consult doctors about his injury after the Paris Olympics. He won the World Championships in 2023 despite the groin injury. Before the Paris Olympics, he took a break of over a month due to an adductor muscle problem. Neeraj had previously consulted a doctor in Germany for his injury and trained in Saarbrücken, Germany, for a while before the Olympics.
During the Paris Olympics, Neeraj expressed his desire to compete in the Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 14. However, he needs to participate in at least one Diamond League event, which will be held in Lausanne on August 22 and Zurich on September 5. The family source stated, “His team (coach and physio) will decide based on his condition whether he will participate in the Diamond League events and the final.”
Neeraj has only participated in one Diamond League event this year, which took place in Doha on May 10. He finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch, the current Diamond League Trophy winner from the Czech Republic. Having won the Diamond League Trophy in 2022, Neeraj is currently tied for fourth place with seven points in the Diamond League final standings. The top six in the Diamond League series will compete in the final. If he does not participate in both Lausanne and Zurich events, Neeraj may miss out on a top-six finish.
After winning the silver medal with a season-best throw of 89.45 meters at the Olympics, Neeraj had indicated that he would need surgery for his groin injury, which has troubled him for some time. He revealed that during his javelin throw, 60-70% of his focus was on his injury. He had been advised by his doctors to have surgery before the World Championships last year, but he chose to wait for the Paris Olympics.
