Neeraj Chopra has pulled out of the Commonwealth Games 2022 due to injury concerns He had won a silver medal at the recently concluded World Athletics Championship in Eugene Oregon – India’s second-ever medal at the Worlds – with a throw of 88.13m. Reportedly, he had suffered a groin strain during the event.
Anderson Peters on Grenada had claimed gold at the Worlds.
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IOA Secretary General Rajiv Mehta said the reigning Olympic champion has been advised rest for one month.
“Team India javelin thrower Mr. Neeraj Chopra had called me earlier today from the US to convey his inability to take part in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games owing to fitness concern," Mehta said.
“Following his participation in the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Mr. Chopra had had an MRI scan done on Monday and, based on it, he has been advised a month’s rest by his medical team," Mehta added.
The 24-year-old had become only the second Indian athlete to win a medal at World Championship, after Anju Bobby George, who won a bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championship held in Paris.
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Chopra was expected to be India’s flag bearer at the Games, starting Thursday.
“We have a meeting later in the day to decide the new flag-bearer," India team’s chef de mission Rajesh Bhandari told PTI.
Chopra was set to defend his crown from the previous edition of CWG in Australia’s Gold Coast. Before making his debut at the CWG in 2018, Neeraj was already a junior world champion and had hurled the javelin to 86.47 metres, just one centimetre short of his then-personal best, to win gold.
Our Olympic Champ @Neeraj_chopra1 will not be defending his title at @birminghamcg22 due to concerns regarding his fitness. We wish him a speedy recovery & are supporting him in these challenging times.#EkIndiaTeamIndia #WeareTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/pPg7SYlrSm— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) July 26, 2022
A few months later, Neeraj went on to win gold at the Asian Games in Jakarta, rewriting his own national record. The 24-year-old had since been improving his personal best and national record twice and coming within sniffing distance of the magical 90-metre mark.
Neeraj made an impressive return to competition after Tokyo 2020, breaking the national record with an 89.30m throw to clinch the silver at Paavo Nurmi Games and then broke the national record again with a throw of 89.94m to finish second in the Stockholm Diamond League 2022 in Sweden recently.
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