Having missed the 2019 season due to a surgery on his elbow, ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is beyond elated to be back in time for the Tokyo Olympics from an injury lay-off.
Chopra, who qualified for the Tokyo Games, with a throw of 87.86m at the ACNE League meeting at Potchefstroom on Tuesday, reckons a positive start after the hiatus gives him hopes of a medal finish at the Olympics.
“I am feeling good and relieved to have qualified for the Olympics. The best feeling though is that I am able to come back to competition after my injury and subsequent surgery,” the 22-year-old Chopra told PTI.
“I will be taking part in national and international competitions without pressure of having to qualify for Olympics. At the same time, I will focus on my training and on my technique to keep on improving my performance in the competitions leading up to the Olympics. I will try my best to win a medal in Olympics and this performance is giving me hope.”
The injury led Chopra to miss the World Championship in Doha last year, despite qualifying for the event. A gold medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Chopra took top honours at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. Despite the pain having completed healed, Chopra wore a protective gear on his elbow for safety measures.
“I did not feel any pain on my elbow during the competition. My training in South Africa is going well. I thought I will begin with some caution and avoid straining my elbow. After the first few throws, I felt good and did not have any issue with my elbow. So I decided to put in some effort and it came out well. It was a big throw after a long time,” Chopra said.
“I wore the elbow cap so that there was proper warming of the elbow area, nothing else. I was alright through the competition.”
By Shivam Urkude || Earth Indian
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