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Injured Neeraj Chopra out of Asian Games
Neeraj Chopra will miss the Asian Games due to an ankle ligament tear, ending hopes for a third consecutive gold. Rohit Yadav may replace him.
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New Delhi: Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will not defend his Asian Games crown due to a ligament tear in his ankle, the javelin ace announced on Saturday. A two-time Asiad gold medallist — he won in 2018 and 2023 — Chopra was India’s surefire medal hope for the Aichi-Nagoya Games (Sept 19-Oct 4), although a third straight gold looked tough going by the scorching form of Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage.
Chopra and Pathirage have squared off six times and the 23-year-old islander enjoys a 5-1 advantage. They last met at the Lausanne Diamond League last week where Pathirage won with a 88.14m throw. Chopra was next with a season’s best of 88.05m. Chopra will also miss the DL Finals in Brussels on September 5.
“After a period of hard work, I finally felt I was gaining momentum I had been looking for with a season’s best throw in Lausanne,” he said in a social media post.
“Unfortunately, shortly after, I sustained a ligament tear in my ankle during training. After discussions with my doctor and team, we’ve decided that I will sit out of this season.”
Chopra has struggled with injuries for the past couple of years, especially since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he claimed silver despite a groin injury. He didn’t go under the knife and instead chose to manage the problem.
“I had an Achilles injury in my blocking (left) leg. I also had an injury in my shoulder and elbow. Then, of course, there was the back issue. I have been having some or the other injury in my groin for a long time,” Chopra said in June on the sidelines of the annual AFI awards.
This year, Chopra competed in only three competitions, and couldn’t win any. He was fourth at the Doha DL, second at the Glasgow CWG and second at Lausanne, making it the only year in his career — senior or junior — without a win.
“It’s disappointing, especially because I felt close to finding my rhythm. But, as they say, setbacks are part of the journey. My focus is now on recovering well and coming back even stronger,” he said.
Chopra’s injury means the onus will now be on Rohit Yadav to deliver the goods in Japan. Yadav has been in good form this year, twice bettering his personal best. After a disappointing seventh place in the Glasgow CWG, Yadav threw a PB of 87.68m at the World Athletics Silver Level Continental Tour meet in Bhubaneshwar last week.
The sports ministry had cleared Chopra and Yadav for the Asian Games. It’ll be interesting to see who the federation recommends as replacement.
“We’ll have to go through a process. The AFI has to send a name to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which will forward it to us. Only then can we include the name in the final shortlist,” a sports ministry official said. The ministry has cleared 492 sportspersons for the Asiad with athletics forming the biggest chunk (73).
Yashvir Singh, who won bronze at the CWG, is the obvious choice but Sachin Yadav too had cleared AFI’s entry standard of 77.87m at this year’s Inter State meet.
AFI extended its support to Chopra and said it will name the replacement soon.
“Neeraj Chopra has informed AFI that he has sustained an injury and will be unable to participate in the forthcoming Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026. The injury will keep him out of competition for the remainder of the season,” the federation tweeted.
“Every time Neeraj steps onto the runway, he carries the hopes of a billion Indians. Today he showed the same strength in stepping back — choosing recovery over risk, and asking AFI to give his place to another athlete so that India’s javelin remains represented on the continent’s biggest stage. AFI will announce the replacement in the men’s javelin throw shortly.”
India had a first-ever 1-2 at the Asian Games in 2023 Hangzhou through Chopra and Kishore Jena. With Pathirage on a hot streak and Pakistan’s reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem in the fray, Indian throwers will have to be at their best to make the podium in Japan.
