Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra had been suffering from a muscle sprain and withdrew from the FBK Games in the Netherlands on June 4 and the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland on June 13.
Although he has started to train, he has not yet achieved full fitness. According to Indian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair, the athlete still requires some time to get back to match fitness and is gradually increasing the intensity of training.
“He started his training last week and should be in good health by the end of this month,” Nair told PTI on Wednesday.
Will Neeraj Chopra participate in the Diamond League in Lausanne?
Neeraj Chopra has been listed by the official Diamond League website to compete at Lausanne.
“In the javelin, the Indian Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will be challenged by the Czech Jakub Vadlejch and German Julian Weber,” the website has stated.
He is also expected to try his luck at the upcoming Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet in the Czech Republic on June 27.
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However, tough competition awaits him at Lausanne, as he will face off against Jakub Vadlejch, the silver medalist at Tokyo 2020 from the Czech Republic.
Vadlejch's outstanding throw of 89.51m at the Paavo Nurmi Games currently leads the yearly standings, slightly ahead of Chopra's impressive 88.67m throw. Additionally, Julian Weber from Germany will also line up, who holds the third-best throw this season at 88.37m.
World no. 1 Chopra currently leads the men's javelin throw points table in the Diamond League 2023 with eight points, earned through his victory at the Doha Diamond League.
Notably, Neeraj Chopra triumphed at the Lausanne Diamond League last year with an impressive throw of 89.08m. His personal best of 89.94m was achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League in the previous year and the Indian will persevere to break the 90m barrier at the upcoming events.
Looking ahead, the Diamond League 2023 final is scheduled to take place in Eugene, USA, on September 16-17, bringing together the world's finest athletes for a thrilling culmination of the season.
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