On Friday, August 25, Neeraj Chopra qualified for the tournament with a dominant victory in the Lausanne Diamond League competition
Neeraj Chopra’s comeback:
Neeraj Chopra of India made a remarkable recovery from an injury to win the Lausanne Diamond League competition on Friday, August 26, by a wide margin. Chopra, in his trademark one-and-done fashion, threw the javelin 89.08 meters on his first try to take the lead over the competition.
After the event, Chopra told the media that he wasn’t worried about breaking the 90-minute mark and that it would happen when it did.
“It’s been a great year for me so far. I have gone over 89m thrice out of the five competitions, 88.3m in the World Championship, and managed to do well in the Kuortane Games with 86.69m despite the challenging weather. So, the performance has been consistent and now the focus is on doing well in Zurich. Yes, everyone has been asking about a 90m throw, it will happen when the time comes, I don’t have any pressure about it as such.”
Chopra stated that there are other competitions that are just as important and that he would be glad if Indian fans started paying attention to those instead of focusing just on the quadrennial event.
This victory is vital for our nation. I believe we shouldn’t limit our attention to things that occur four or two years down the road. Athletes have a lot of options in events like the Continental Tour and Diamond League Meet. Every year, it takes place, and it provides us with chances to succeed.
Due to the participation of elite athletes, it greatly aids in preparation for the big competitions. Success in these competitions would benefit Indian Athletics and the sport as a whole.
He further added, “I will be very happy to see more Indian athletes taking part in these competitions and I will be delighted to participate along with my fellow Indian athletes at a stage like this. Avinash Sable and Sreeshankar also participated in the Diamond League this year, so gradually our country is reaching this level and if we will perform better here, then it will help Indian athletics do well at bigger stages.”
Chopra had to withdraw from the 2022 Commonwealth Games after suffering a groin injury during a Diamond League match. In response to the same, Chopra expressed his belief that his season was about to come to an end.
“I had to skip Commonwealth Games due to groin injury, and I felt that I will have to end the season. But there wasn’t much pain, so I had the belief that I will recover before the tournament. I made some good throws in the training and was feeling well, hence we made the decision to compete here. I did my rehab in Germany with my coach and physio Ishaan Marwaha. It went really well. I had very limited time to prepare but the proper planning in rehab helped me recover quickly,” Chopra stated.
Courtesy of this victory, Neeraj has qualified for the Diamond League finals which will take place in Zurich next month.
