Javelin’s Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will not defend his Commonwealth Games title after suffering an injury.
The country’s Olympic Association confirmed the news of their prized assets’ absence from the games in Birmingham.
Chopra had complained of a groin issue in Eugene during the recently completed World Athletics Championships and was advised to rest after undergoing scans. The 24-year-old recently became the first Indian athlete to win a silver medal for his country in the world championships after a throw of 88.13m in Eugene and only the country’s second overall after Anju Bobby George took bronze in women’s long jump in 2003.
He finished behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters who threw for 90.54 meters in his final attempt to retain his crown after leading the competition throughout.
His effort in Oregon was better than the throw of 87.58 meters which won him a gold in the Tokyo Olympics last year making him the first Indian to win an individual athletics gold medal.
Neeraj Chopra, who hails from the northern Indian state of Haryana, had already annexed the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medals in 2018 and had been chosen as India’s flag-bearer for Thursday’s opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games which will take place from 28th July to 8th August.
