Neeraj Chopra competed with ‘low fitness’ in Lausanne

0
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra on Monday admitted that he was in a quandary whether to go full throttle in Lausanne because he was returning from an injury and his fitness level was still not at the desired level. The star javelin clinched his second consecutive Diamond League title on June 30 with a throw of 87.66m — an effort that was not close to his best in recent past.

After the event, Chopra said that his next competition will be in Budapest. It means that he may miss a couple of international events before that.

The Hungarian capital of Budapest will host the World Athletics Championships from August 19 to 27. The javelin throw competition begins with the qualification round on August 25.

“Overall, my fitness level was a bit low (in Lausanne). Because of the injury, there was a question mark on my mind also whether I am 100 per cent fit or not, whether I have to push myself or not,” Chopra said during a virtual media interaction.

“I need to improve my fitness, work on it (fitness) through training so that I can give my best at the World Championships and fulfil the dream of winning gold there.”

The 25-year-old Chopra, who had also won the season-opening Diamond League in Doha on May 5, had sustained a muscle strain while training, which he had announced on May 29. He said saving himself from injury will be his main goal this season as three major competitions — World Championships in August, Diamond League Finals in September and Asian Games in October — are lined up. “I have to go with 100 per cent fitness in these events. If I am not physically fit, I will also be not mentally ready. Not only the physical aspect, but the mental aspect is also important,” he said.

“There is a lot of time now to work on my fitness and be ready for the World Championships and other major events.”

Chopra has already got 16 Diamond League points after winning two legs, which should suffice to earn a place in the grand finale in Eugene, USA, on September 16-17.

There are still two Diamond League events which have javelin throw on the roster before the grand finale — in Monaco on July 21 and in Zurich August 31.

Chopra, however, said that he has not decided whether he will skip the Monaco leg or not.

“There is still time before Monaco. We will see for up to seven days and decide on whether to compete there or not. If I feel that I am good and up for it, I will go there and compete.”

Chopra is the reigning Diamond League champion, having won the trophy in the 2022 grand finale in Zurich in September last.

Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our  Twitter, & Facebook

We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.

For all the latest Sports News Click Here 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Rapidtelecast.com is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
Leave a comment