Neeraj Chopra of India
Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday withdrew from top-level competition in Switzerland due to fatigue.
Chopra was to compete in the Spitzen Leichtathletic event in Lucerne, a World Athletics continental tour silver-level event featuring Olympic gold medalist Johannes Wetter of Germany and some other top javelin throwers.
Chopra had competed in three events in Portugal, Sweden and Finland since June 10, and the competition in Lucerne would have been her fourth in almost three weeks.
It is learned that Chopra’s pull-out was a precautionary measure to give her body enough time to rest after a long journey, even though she has registered her name for the top-class competition.
He is accompanied by bio-mechanics specialist Dr. Klaus Bartonitz and physiotherapist Isan Marwah. The 23-year-old will now travel to Uppsala, Sweden, for training and is expected to take part in the Gateshead (England) Diamond League on July 13. This will be Chopra’s biggest event ahead of the Olympics, which open on July 23.
Apart from the waiters, the likes of Andreas Hoffmann (Germany), Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago) and Bernhard Seifert (Germany), who top Chopra on the Road to Tokyo list, were vying for the event.
Chopra took bronze at the Kuorten Games in Finland last Saturday with an effort of 86.79m after season-leader and 2017 world champion Vetter (93.59m) and 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2016 Games bronze winner Walcott (89.12m). .
This was Chopra’s third best performance this season since rewriting his own national record during the Indian Grand Prix 3 with a throw of 88.07m at NIS Patiala in March. A few days later, he threw 87.80m during the Federation Cup at the same venue.
In her last two competitions in Europe, Chopra finished below 80.96m at the Karlstad Grand Prix in Sweden on 22 June to win a competition in Lisbon, Portugal on 10 June with a best effort of 83.18m. .
The 23-year-old reigning Asian and Commonwealth Games champion had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in South Africa in January last year.
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