Ligament tear destroys Neeraj’s hopes for Diamond League final, Asian Games

Neeraj Chopra was less than a week away from his Diamond League final on 4th and 5th September at Wanda, Brussels – when a shattering piece of news about his ligament tear ended his season as well as the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in end-September.

A ligament tear in his ankle during training put the 28-year-old’s aspirations in jeopardy – though a number of javelin aspirants had been soaring in his absence. The 28-year-old Indian ace confirmed the setback on Saturday, just over a week after producing a season-best 88.05m to finish second at the Lausanne Diamond League.

“After a period of hard work, I finally felt I was gaining the momentum I had been looking for with a season's best throw in Lausanne. Unfortunately, shortly after, I sustained a ligament tear in my ankle during training,” Chopra said in a social media post. 

“After discussions with my doctor and team, we’ve decided that I will sit out the rest of this season,” Chopra added. The injury rules the two-time Olympic medallist out of the Asian Games, where he was expected to defend his javelin title for third time in a row. Neeraj Chopra won the Asian Games gold medal in 2018 and defended his crown at Hangzhou 2023.

He will also miss the Diamond League final in Brussels on 5th September  having secured his place in the season finale with 12 points from two Diamond League meetings. Neeraj was also expected to compete at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest on 13th September but the plans had to be scuppered.

The latest setback comes just as Neeraj appeared to be rediscovering his best form following an injury-hit start to the season. After returning to competition at the Doha Diamond League in June, where the former Olympic and world champion finished fourth with 85.69m, Neeraj improved to 85.83m to claim the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Neeraj, whose national record tands at 90.23m, then produced his best performance of the year in Lausanne, throwing 88.05m to finish second behind Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, who won with 88.14m. ‘’It’s disappointing, especially because I felt close to finding my rhythm. But as they say, setbacks are a part of the journey.’’

‘’My focus now is on recovering well and coming back even stronger,’’ Chopra added on social media. This is the second year in a row where injury has cut Neeraj Chopra’s season short after a lower back injury ruled him out of action for an extended period last September.