India's superstar athlete ended the 2024 season at the second spot by a margin of 1 cm in the Diamond League final. He threw his javelin 87.86m long in his third attempt while the eventual winner Anderson Peters came up with an 87.87m throw. After the event, Neeraj took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal that he had fractured the fourth metacarpal of his left hand but was able to play with the help of his team.
The main question that arises here is - Was there a need to play for Neeraj Chopra with an injury? Was the Diamond League tournament so important for him? Paris Olympics gold medallist Arshad Nadeem hasn't participated in any of the tournaments since the Games while the defending champion of the Diamond League, Jakub Vadlejch, also withdrew from the final for unknown reasons.
Neeraj's closest competitors didn't feature in the Diamond League while the 26-year-old participated in the last round to make it to the final at the fourth place. It is well known to everyone that Neeraj struggled with a groin injury before the Olympics and managed it during the Games too. He had to settle for a silver medal eventually with Pakistan's Arshad recording the all-time Olympics throw.
He is set to undergo the surgery for the same soon and the fresh injury to his left hand is likely to make the recovery period long for Neeraj. In this situation, should Neeraj have skipped playing after the Olympics? Has he risked aggravating both his injuries by participating in the Diamond League? Well, only time will tell whether his recovery period will be extended.
Neeraj Chopra himself cleared in his tweet that he wanted to finish the season on track and also admitted that he couldn't meet his expectations this season. Well, then he will be gunning to return fully fit next year and breach that 90m mark that eluded him throughout the 2024 season.
Neeraj Chopra's performance in 2024 (only best throws in that event considered)
88.35m at Doha Diamond League - 2nd place (May 10)
82.27m at Federation Cup, India - 1st place (May 15)
85.97m at Paavo Nurmi Games - 1st place (June 18)
89.34m at Paris 2024 Olympics (Qualification) - August 6
89.45m at Paris 2024 Olympics (Final) - August 8
89.49m at Lausanne Diamond League - 2nd place (August 22)
87.86m at Brussels Diamond League (Final) - 2nd place (September 14)
