Neeraj indicated that he will now participate in the Budapest World Championship starting on August 19.
Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who topped the Lausanne stage of the Diamond League, indicated that he will now directly look to compete at the World Athletics Championships, which begins in Budapest on August 19. Chopra will not take part in any other competition during this period. Chopra, who has been out of action for almost a month due to injury, topped the Diamond League for the second time in a row with a throw of 87.66m on Friday. He also topped the inaugural Diamond League in the current season on May 5 in Doha. After winning in Lausanne, Chopra said, “For me the next competition in Budapest will be very big.”
“I wanted to win here so I am very happy with the result but I want to practice again. I have realized some flaws and want to improve on them. This will strengthen my game. He described Lausanne as a city of good luck for him. “Lausanne has always been good to me,” he said. Last year also I had won here and it happened this year as well. So I am looking forward to coming again next year and winning again.” The men’s javelin throw qualification round of the Budapest World Championships is scheduled for August 25. It still has more than 50 days to go. If Chopra does not compete in any event before that, he will go into the World Championships having played only two major events namely the Doha and Lausanne stages of the Diamond League.
Chopra did not specifically mention the World Championships as his next event, but there are no major events other than the Monaco leg of the Diamond League (July 21) before the championships in Budapest from September 19 to 27. . A top official of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) told PTI that Chopra has fully recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered last month. Due to this injury, he did not participate in the top three events (World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Label competitions). This officer said, “He is completely fit. I think he will not compete (before the World Championships). Perhaps, he wants to focus more on the World Championship. Chopra had won a silver medal in the 2022 World Championship.
