Neeraj Chopra after winning Olympic silver: Been struggling with groin injury for a while now

Neeraj Chopra secured a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a throw of 89.45 meters, marking his season’s best. However, he was unable to defend his Tokyo gold. Following the finals, Neeraj opened up about his ongoing struggle with injuries.

“I’m always injured,” said Neeraj, who has been slowed by a groin injury. ”Nadeem threw really well. Congratulations to him and his country.“

Neeraj was outshone by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who set a new Olympic record with a stunning throw of 92.97 meters (305 feet) in his second attempt, surpassing the previous mark of 90.57 meters set by Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen in 2008. Neeraj pushed himself to the limit this season, delivering his best throw in the qualification round and then surpassing it with an impressive 89.45 meters in his second throw of the final—his second-best career throw. However, for Neeraj, it wasn’t enough to secure gold.

“The injury is always on the back of my mind. If I’m focussing on the throw, the (injury) occupies 60–70% of my focus. You can see that my speed has reduced from earlier,” the 26-year-old added. 

He revealed that he has been managing the pain for years, turning down surgery to focus on the Olympics. 

“I’ve been struggling with the groin injury for some time now. Before the last World Championship, the doctors suggested surgery, but at that point, I didn’t have that time because the preparation for the Olympics takes a long time,” said Neeraj.

Neeraj, who made history as the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win Olympic gold in Tokyo, believes he still has more to achieve and is focused on preparing for the future. He revealed that a persistent groin injury has been a significant obstacle to his training.

“I’ve been dragging it (the groin injury). I first felt it in 2017 and have undergone several treatments, but now I need to sort this out quickly as I want to fulfil the potential distance I think I have in me,” he said. 

“Javelin is a very injury-prone sport and is a bit unnatural for the body. According to my runup, today’s distance was good.”

Neeraj also gave details about how the injury significantly impacted his training regimen, limiting his practice throws and affecting his speed. 

“I personally felt that mindset was a very important thing in the Olympics. For the last one or two years, I’ve not been able to throw using the full runway. A javelin thrower throws 40–50 throws per session, but for me, I was only able to participate in a session in two weeks because there’s always a risk of injury during these sessions.”