Brussels: India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra revealed that he was participating in Saturday night’s Diamond League final with a broken hand bone.
Neeraj finished second in the final match between seven players, trailing Grenada’s Anderson Peters by just one centimeter. Neeraj achieved a distance of 87.86 meters in his third attempt, while Peters threw 87.87 meters in his first attempt. Germany’s Julian Weber took third place with a throw of 85.97 meters.
Neeraj revealed that his left-hand bone was broken during training this week. Earlier, Neeraj Chopra was suffering from groin pain during the recently held Paris Olympics. He won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Anderson Peters got the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal by setting an Olympic record in this event.
Neeraj Chopra said on the social media platform ‘X’, “After the 2024 season is over, I am thinking about the things I learned this year. These include – improvements, challenges, mindset, and other things.
I got injured during training on Monday and the X-ray revealed that the fourth bone of the left hand was broken. It was another painful challenge for me. But with the help of my team, I was able to participate in Brussels.”
Neeraj further said, “This was the last match of this year and I wanted to end my season on the track. Even though I could not live up to my expectations, this season was a learning one for me. Now I am committed to returning fully fit. Thank you for all your support. 2024 has made me a better athlete and human being. Now see you in 2025.”
26-year-old Neeraj won the Diamond League trophy in 2022 and finished second last year. Tokyo Olympic champion Neeraj’s best throw of the season came in the Diamond League competition last month, where he threw 89.49 meters.
It is worth noting that Neeraj has not been able to throw 90 meters even once in his career. After the results of the Paris Olympics, he said that now the time has come when he will have to focus on this (90-meter throw).
