A two-time Asiad gold medallist — he won in 2018 and 2023 — Chopra was India’s surefire medal hope for the Aichi-Nagoya Games (Sept 19-Oct 4), although a third straight gold looked tough going by the scorching form of Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage. New Delhi: Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will not defend his Asian Games crown due to a ligament tear in his ankle, the javelin ace announced on Saturday.
Chopra has struggled with injuries for the past couple of years, especially since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he claimed silver despite a groin injury. After a disappointing seventh place in the Glasgow CWG, Yadav threw a PB of 87.68m at the World Athletics Silver Level Continental Tour meet in Bhubaneshwar last week. The ministry has cleared 492 sportspersons for the Asiad with athletics forming the biggest chunk (73).
Because i felt close to finding my rhythm, “It’s disappointing, especially. “Unfortunately, shortly after, I sustained a ligament tear in my ankle during training. After discussions with my doctor and team, we’ve decided that I will sit out of this season. He didn’t go under the knife and instead chose to manage the problem. “I had an Achilles injury in my blocking (left) leg. I also had an injury in my shoulder and elbow. Then, of course, there was the back issue. But, as they say, setbacks are part of the journey. Chopra’s injury means the onus will now be on Rohit Yadav to deliver the goods in Japan. Yadav has been in good form this year, twice bettering his personal best. “We’ll have to go through a process. The AFI has to send a name to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which will forward it to us.
“After a period of hard work, I finally felt I was gaining momentum I had been looking for with a season’s best throw in Lausanne,” he said in a social media post. I have been having some or the other injury in my groin for a long time,” Chopra said in June on the sidelines of the annual AFI awards. My focus is now on recovering well and coming back even stronger,” he said. Only then can we include the name in the final shortlist,” a sports ministry official said.
