Neeraj Chopra clarifies pulling out of Ostrava Golden Spike Meet: 'not injured'
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Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has clarified that he is "not injured" and has withdrawn from the Ostrava Golden Spike 2024 athletics meet as a precaution to remain risk-free during the Olympic year.
The 26-year-old athlete issued an update on his health after the organisers stated that Neeraj had sustained an injury during training, which would prevent his participation in the event scheduled to commence on May 28.
"Hello everyone! Following a recent throwing session, I decided not to compete in Ostrava as I felt something in my adductor. I have had problems with it in the past and pushing it at this stage can lead to injury," Neeraj clarified via Instagram story.
"Just to clarify I am not injured but I don't want to take any risk during the Olympic year so had to take this decision. Once I feel it's fully recovered, I will get back to competitions. Thank you for your support," he added.
Earlier, the organisers had stated that Neeraj picked up an injury in his adductor muscle while training two weeks ago and would only attend the meet as a guest.
"Due to an injury that he sustained in training two weeks ago (adductor muscle), he will not be able to throw in Ostrava," the organisers said in a statement.
"He will arrive at the event as a guest," they added.
Neeraj began his season with a second-place finish at the Doha Diamond League earlier this month. He also returned to domestic competition after almost three years to win gold in the Federation Cup with a throw of 82.27m, pushing DP Manu to the second spot in Bhubaneswar.