New Delhi: Five foul throws in six attempts – Neeraj Chopra was clearly not in his elements during the Men’s Javelin Olympic final in Paris on Thursday night.
The reigning Olympic champion was under pressure after his Pakistani rival Arshad Nadeem achieved a monstrous throw of 92.97 metres, an Olympic record, on his second attempt. But that wasn’t the only reason why Neeraj faltered with his hurling of the javelin.
Thankfully, Neeraj managed 89.45m with his sole legal attempt, and that was good enough to fetch him the silver at Paris following his gold at Tokyo three years ago.
So what was bugging Neeraj at Stade de France that robbed him of his normal rhythm?
Well, Neeraj has been carrying a long-standing groin injury, which troubled him in the finals.
Now that the Olympic Games are over, and he has given India their best medal (silver) of Paris just like he did in Tokyo (gold), Neeraj is quite likely to go under the knife.
Neeraj has been struggling with hernia, which has been causing pain in his groin since the World Championships in 2022.
He has been delaying surgery to make sure he had the best chance of competing at the Paris Olympics. To avoid aggravating the hernia, Neeraj took part in a selected number of tournaments in the lead-up to the Paris Games.
But now time seems to be ripe for the surgery. According to India Today, three top doctors have been identified to perform the hernia operation.
Neeraj revealed after Thursday’s final that he was advised surgery last year.
“I already threw 89.94m (in 2022) with this injury. When I throw, I always focus almost 50 per cent on my injury. We have to focus mostly on technique, but it’s really hard for me with this injury,” the 26-year-old Neeraj said.
“Doctors told me to go for surgery last year. I have been stretching myself till now… There have been treatments since. But we will have to take a big decision,” he added, giving a clear hint of an impending operation.
