Patiala: Ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra returned to action after a year-long injury lay-off in October in the 59th National Open Athletics Championships.
Neeraj who is considered as one of India's topmost medal prospect had earlier clinched gold medals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and Jakarta Asian Games but hasn't taken part in any competition in more than a year since being diagnosed with an elbow injury while training in Potchefstroom, South Africa after which he underwent a surgery in May last year.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Neeraj spoke about his experience while nursing injury and his mindset while undergoing a rehabilitation process.
Upon asking how is his injury faring, Neeraj stated that his injury has been faring well and he is following all the regimes as mentioned by the physio and strength coach which is aiding him to return to full fitness.
Neeraj also mentioned that it was tough mentally for him in being out from the sport because as a sportsman one would want to be in and around the field which he was unable to do for a year (four months since undergoing surgery). However, he said he was training in ground and undergoing fitness regimes to not lose his composure.
Chopra further said that he used to go for running, cycling and used to do core training and thus kept himself busy with the same in his spare time. Chopra also said that he has regained full strength, however, he needs a little bit more time to get back from injury fully fit.
Neeraj furthermore mentioned that he has learnt bits of strength aspect from his new personal coach Uwe Hohn after which he got injured, thus he hasn't been able to learn much of the technical aspect from him.
Chopra further dismissed claims that he requires Uwe presently while undergoing rehabilitation, stating that he actually needs the help of strength conditioning coach and physio at the moment.
Neeraj also thanked his sponsors, SAI, the AFI and the TOPS program for helping him in his tough time. He also stated that this year-long injury lay-off helped him reflect on other aspects of his game and life which mentally made him stronger.
Neeraj further updated us about his injury status stating that he has recovered almost and will in time get back his full strength.
Chopra also said that he is not facing any pressure to qualify for Olympics and instead stated that he is hopeful of a medal in the Tokyo Games and will try his level best to achieve that.
Chopra went on stating that in an event like Olympics no particular individual can be foreseen as a potential threat as it all depends on the form of that specific athlete for that particular day. Although he said that there are javelin throwers from Europe and especially Germany of whom he needs to be wary of.
Neeraj further claimed that a javelin thrower needs to continuously work on technique and not solely depend on strength as both are important aspects for an athlete to achieve his optimum
