Star Indian athlete and two-time Olympic medallist, Neeraj Chopra had a disappointing out at the World Athletics Championships 2025, underway in Tokyo. The Indian javelin thrower, who entered the competition
after a second-place finish at the Diamond League 2025 Final last month, struggled despite earning his qualification into the final round on his first throw.
The former Olympic gold medallist, who entered the tournament as the defending champion, could not emulate his previous performance as he finished eighth with a best throw of 84.03m, falling considerably short of the top contenders. However, his compatriot and debutant Sachin Yadav delivered his personal best with a 86.27m throw.
Neeraj Chopra discloses back injury after his eighth place finish at World Athletics Championships 2025
Hours after the event, the 27-year-old athlete revealed details of his performance while disclosing of a back issue, which he has been struggling from last two weeks. In a candid chat, Neeraj Chopra revealed, "I don't know. It is fine, it is sports, its life. I have seen this for a long time, normally I would handle the situation. But today, it was a different day. Actually before coming, when we were training in Czech Republic, only few team members knew that I am dealing with an injury problem, I also told the federation, that I have some back issues. I couldn't train for two weeks. So, I was going through rehabilitation.”
Neeraj further explained that they were initially unsure if he would compete but decided to go ahead, adding "I did an easy session to make sure that I can play, and yesterday it was an easy throw. But still I felt that I would try, but it didn't happen because I didn't train much and I wasn't feeling that healthy. But whatever happened today, I will learn from this and I will bounce back next season."
An AFI official also communicated of Neeraj Chopra’s injury, stating, “Yes, it is true that Chopra has been troubled by a back problem for the last couple of weeks. He kept us informed about that.” “It (back problem) must have affected his performance, but he should not worry about it. Win and loss happen in sports. Moreover, javelin is such an event that you may not click very well on a particular day and nothing at all on another day,” the source added.
