
Speaking ahead of the Doha Diamond League event, Neeraj Chopra up on his injury issues, which has plagued him in the past.
Neeraj Chopra will be in action on Friday at the Doha Diamond League at the Suheid bin Hamid Stadium in Qatar, and will also be looking for his second title in the competition. Neeraj came second in each of the last two years of the Wanda Diamond League, failing to back up his debut Diamond League championship from 2022, when his throw fell one centimetre short of pole position.
Speaking ahead of the Doha event, Chopra up on his injury issues, which has plagued him in the past. Revealing that he was fully fit for the first time in months, he told Indian Express, “(Earlier) I had some problems in my groin.”
“This time, I never missed any (throwing) session. So, I feel very confident.”
During the Paris Olympics 2024, Chopra had to settle for silver, and was also dealing with a persisting groin injury which has affected his performacnes. Back then he couldn’t even train properly due to the injury.
But now he feels more confident and will be aiming to clinch gold. He said, “I feel really good. The last throwing sessions were really great. I am ready.”
“I am very excited to open my season in Doha.”
Neeraj Chopra-Jan Zelezny partnership to begin
This time will also be different for Chopra as it will be his first competition with javelin leend Jan Zelezny, who is also his coach. “In the beginning, it was really hard for me because normally when I trained with Klaus, we trained like today we do throwing, tomorrow lifting… But with Jan, in the morning we do throwing, afternoon lifting. So, it was a new experience for me,” Chopra said. “In the beginning, it was hard but after a few weeks, I really liked it. Now, I did some really great sessions. Everything is going well. He changed few little things in technique. He not just helped me in training but also with other things like how we can compete with a strong mindset,” he said.