Asian Games: Neeraj confident despite injury worry

‘A little bit of groin issue is still there, it happened last year also.’

IMAGE: Neeraj Chopra has played most part of the season with a groin strain but still won the World championships title in August and finished second in the Diamond League earlier this month. Photograph: Neeraj Chopra/Instagram

A groin strain has been troubling Neeraj Chopra for some time now but the Olympic champion does not want the thought of injury affect him as he gears up to defend his Asian Games title.

Chopra played most part of the season with a groin strain but still won the World championships title in August in Budapest and went on to finish second in the Diamond League finals on September 16.

“I have come back here after training and doing rehab in a relaxed manner in Switzerland. I hope to give my 100 per cent and defend my Asian Games title,” Chopra said in Hangzhou on Saturday.

The 25-year-old javelin thrower has Olympic qualification in his mind.

“A little bit of groin issue is still there, it happened last year also. I was feeling better but it happened again. I have to take care of this very well and then prepare for the Paris Olympics. This kind of thing happens for athletes who compete at the top level.”

He said the challenge throughout the season was how to keep his mind away from the injury and focus more on his game.

“I was struggling during the World Championships and I was trying to divert my mind from the injury and focus on the throw.

“My strength is on the speed in the run-up but my biggest problem this time was I could not throw with full run-up even during training because of this injury. But still I am very happy with my performance this season. I want to take away this thought of injury from the mind.”