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Olympic gold medallist and champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has decided not to take part in the upcoming 36th National Games because he is recovering from a groin injury coupled with a grueling season. Chopra recently created history as he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League Finals title in Zurich.
While addressing his decision, he talked about how the Diamond League finals were scheduled to be the last event of his season. Similarly, the schedule for the National Games, which will be hosted across cities in Gujarat from 29 September to 12 October, was announced recently because of which it was part of this yearly plan.
Chopra while talking to the Times of India said, "As per my schedule planned at the start of the year, this was supposed to be my last event of the season. I would have participated in the Asian Games around this time but that was postponed. We already knew about it, so my season ended with the Zurich event. The dates for the National Games were announced recently."
The Olympic Gold medallist further spoke about the importance of this rest period as he has some major events next year. “I have consulted with my coach (Dr Klaus Bartonietz) and he advised me to rest and prepare for the crucial season next year, which includes the World Championships and Asian Games", Neeraj said.
The Padma Shri award-winner then opened up about how risky his participation in the National Games would be and after a two-week vacation in Zurich, he will come back to India for his recovery process.
He said, "I have just recovered from a groin injury. If train and compete, it could become risky. My uncle and friends have travelled from India and are here in Zurich. So, I will be vacationing with them for one or two weeks before returning to India. After that, I will come back home to begin my rehabilitation programme."
Talking about Chopra’s recent triumph he had made a spectacular return from the one-month injury hiatus as he won the Lausanne-leg of the Diamond League series on 26 August to qualify for the Finals. He then became the first Indian to clinch a Diamond League title in Lausanne with his third career-best throw of 89.08m.