Neeraj Chopra admits injury fears hindered his performance at Paris 2024 Olympics

Neeraj Chopra admits injury fears hindered his performance at Paris 2024 Olympics

Neeraj Chopra acknowledged that his performance at the Olympics in Paris 2024 wasn’t at its peak since he was worried about making an injury worse.Despite this, the Indian javelin ace went on to deliver one of his finest throws ever during the Games, winning a silver medal with a throw of 89.45 meters.Neeraj Chopra’s attempt to retain his title was unsuccessful in Paris as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal with an amazing throw of 92.97 meters, shattering the Olympic record.

The Indian star’s Paris 2024 campaign was uneventful.

Neeraj’s throws in the final and qualification rounds were the second and third best of his career, respectively, but he was afraid of hurting his groin again, so he didn’t push himself mentally.”My throws in Paris, both in qualification and the final, were my second and third-best throws, so I feel like I could have gone farther in the final.

• If you throw the javelin at the proper angle of release, you can hurl it an additional 3–4 meters.
• But, despite my mental readiness, my body was unconsciously holding back out of concern that my groin ailment would worsen. During a virtual press conference from Switzerland, Neeraj Chopra stated, “I was having a lot of trouble with the run-up on the track at the Stade de France, which led to so many invalid attempts.”
• At Paris 2024, the men’s javelin throw was hotly contested. Three racers surpassed the 88-meter mark, and Arshad Nadeem broke the 90-meter barrier twice. In the Paris 2024 final, every athlete in the top five surpassed Neeraj Chopra’s throw of 87.58 meters, which won him the gold medal in Tokyo 2020.
• Neeraj was further motivated to do better in the final by Arshad’s fierce competition in the field. His throw that won him the silver medal happened right after Arshad shattered the Olympic record.
• “I didn’t think for a single moment that I couldn’t accomplish the same,” Neeraj stated. “Even Arshad threw a record-breaking 90.18 meters at the Commonwealth Games; my best was 89.94 meters.”
• “In the end, he unexpectedly gained more distance, and I thought I could match that.” Once more, I was unable to push myself as much as I would have liked due to the injury.
• “Arshad had just broken the Olympic record when I made my second throw, and I was in a really good frame of mind. I consequently received a powerful toss. But with time, I became physically unable to handle it,” he continued.
• His groin problem interfered with even his pre-Paris Summer Games training sessions. After the season concludes on September 14 with the Brussels Diamond League, Neeraj—who is anticipated to have surgery—had an injury scare shortly before the Ostrava Golden Spike in late May.
• During training, the throwing sessions are crucial. I was forced to restrict those due to the injury. Less throwing means I won’t have as many opportunities to hone the skill. Although it may take some time to resolve, I’m confident that the distance will increase.

“In Paris, my throws were more inward-facing than outward-facing. The arm speed was adequate. However, the line can have changed by a few meters. I shall thus endeavor to improve the line and the angle of release now that I am limited by my groin,” he stated.

ALSO SEE;Paris 2024 Paralympics | They will give us chills: Stéphane Houdet

Neeraj Chopra became just the fourth athlete from an independent India to win two Olympic medals,

behind Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu, and Manu Bhaker, despite being unable to defend his championship in Paris.

• After routinely hitting the 88-meter mark in significant international competitions over the past few years, he is proud of himself. Neeraj also intends to strengthen his technique and address his areas of weakness in training.
• Following the two-time Asian Games champion over the past several years, questions about reaching the 90-meter mark resurfaced following Arshad Nadeem’s accomplishment in the championship.

“I’ve given it to God.” Simply put, put forth a lot of effort, get ready, and do your best; whatever has to happen will eventually. I’ve chosen to leave the 90-meter objective alone because it has been discussed so extensively. He concluded, saying, “I’ll just concentrate on training and trying to get as good of a technique as I can.