Neeraj Chopra calls competing injured at World Championships a mistake

NEW DELHI: Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra has admitted that competing at the 2025 World Championships while struggling with a back injury was a mistake. However, the 28-year-old Olympic medallist is now fully fit and ready to make his season debut at the Doha Diamond League on Friday. Chopra last competed at the World Championships in Tokyo in September, where he finished eighth with a throw of 84.03m.

Reflecting on his decision to compete despite the injury, Chopra acknowledged it was not ideal. "I had some injury last year before the Tokyo World Championship. We work a lot and also competed in Tokyo, but I don't think that was a good decision because I already know that I have some problem. But that was the last competition (of 2025), so I decided to compete there," he said.

Chopra explained that his recovery process was challenging, as injuries often led to other complications. "In an athlete's life, if there is one injury, we try to save that injury, and then we feel another one. I had in my ankle, then somewhere in shoulder. Then I sat together with my team and my physio, and we worked on every part," he shared. After months of rehabilitation and training, Chopra expressed confidence ahead of his return. "I feel really good and fit, let's see tomorrow," he added.

Doha holds a special place in Chopra's career, as it was here in May last year that he achieved his first 90m throw, recording a distance of 90.23m under the guidance of legendary coach Jan Zelezny. However, Chopra believes that throw was not technically perfect. "Technically, that throw was not that good. It was really fast from the arm, but if I had done better with my lower body, that may be (added) two to three metres more," he said.

Chopra revealed that he prefers watching his qualification-round throws from major championships, as he feels more relaxed and technically sound during those attempts. "I really like my qualification round throws in the Olympics or World Championships because I feel really relaxed and throw far. But whenever I compete in finals or in main competition, I always try really hard, very aggressive, then I forget my technique," he explained.

Earlier this year, Chopra parted ways with coach Jan Zelezny after a season of working together. While praising Zelezny's contributions, Chopra said he wanted to follow his own ideas and work with someone who had been with him since the beginning of his career. "Zelezny was a great athlete and a really good coach. I'm happy that I broke 90m under him. But I had to stay in one place to hold the season, and that was not possible for me. So we decided after Tokyo World Championships that maybe I need to work with my ideas, so I started working with an Indian coach," he said.

Chopra is now training under Jaiveer Chaudhary, who has been associated with him for over 15 years. "He (Jaiveer Chaudhary) is my senior. I started javelin throw with him, so he knows my story from the last 15-16 years. He knows my training plans and everything, so now we work on my technique. We are not working on anything specific, very deep on anything. I'm working on my natural technique," Chopra explained.

Looking ahead, Chopra is gearing up for a competitive season, with the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games on the horizon in 2026. He expects the Commonwealth Games to be as challenging as the Olympics or World Championships, given the presence of several world-class throwers. "All of them have thrown 90m, so Commonwealth Games will not be less (competitive) than Olympics or World Championships. It will be a really tough competition," he said.

Chopra also plans to compete at the Asian Games in Japan later this year. Reflecting on Doha's conditions, he highlighted the role of wind in achieving longer throws. "In javelin throw, we can use wind for runway speed; it really helps. Also, if we point up (the spear) a little bit high and the wind pushes a little bit from behind the javelin, then it helps. But if you throw really flat, then I don't think so it (wind) will help you," Chopra explained.