New Delhi. Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has left for Germany after winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics to seek medical advice about a possible surgery and decide on his participation in the upcoming Diamond League competitions, sources said.
A family source told PTI that he has left for Germany and is unlikely to return to India for at least a month. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) sources in Paris also confirmed that Neeraj has left for Germany.
A family source told PTI, “Chopra has left for Germany and will not return to India for the next one and a half months.”
He said, “I don’t have much information but definitely he will consult a doctor there (Germany).” After winning the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland in June, Neeraj had said that he would consult doctors after the Paris Olympics regarding his injury.
He won the World Championships in 2023 with a groin injury. Before the Paris Olympics this year, he took a break of more than a month due to adductor muscle problems. Twenty-six-year-old Neeraj had earlier also consulted a physician in Germany for his injury. Before the Olympics, he also trained for some time in Saarbrucken, Germany last month.
During the Paris Olympics, Neeraj had expressed his desire to play in the Diamond League finals to be held in Brussels, Belgium on September 14. However, for this, he will have to participate in at least one Diamond League competition which is to be held in Lausanne on August 22 and in Zurich on September 5.
A family source said, “His team (coach and physio) will decide according to his condition whether he will play in the Diamond League competition (and Diamond League Final) or not.” Neeraj has participated in only one Diamond League competition which was held in Doha on 10 May. There he finished second behind the current Diamond League Trophy winner Jakub Vadlech of the Czech Republic. Neeraj, who won the Diamond League Trophy in the year 2022, is currently joint fourth in the Diamond League Final points table with seven points.
The players who finish in the top six in the Diamond League competition series will compete in the Diamond League Finals. Neeraj may miss out on a place in the top six if he does not participate in both Lausanne and Zurich.
After winning the silver medal at the Olympics with a season’s best performance of 89.45 meters, Neeraj Chopra had indicated that he would have to undergo surgery for his groin injury which has been troubling him for the last few years. Neeraj had revealed that when he was throwing the javelin, 60-70 percent of his attention was on his injury. He said that his doctor had asked him to undergo surgery before the World Championships last year but he did not do so in view of the Paris Olympics.