Neeraj Chopra Reveals Why Competing Through Pain At World Championships Was A Mistake

Competing at last year's World Championships with a back injury was not a good decision, conceded seasoned Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra before assuring that he "feels fit" as he gears up for a delayed start to his season at the Doha Diamond League on Friday.

Chopra finished a disappointing eighth in the Tokyo World Championships in September 2025 with a modest throw of 84.03m. He revealed after the event that he was carrying a lower back injury. It took time for him to recover and he had to delay the start of the ongoing season.

"I had some injury last year before Tokyo World Championship. We work a lot and also competed in Tokyo, but I don't think that was a good decision because I already know that I have some problem. But that was the last competition (of 2025), so I decided to compete there," the 28-year-old said ahead of Friday's Doha Diamond League.

"In an athlete's life, if there is one injury we try to save that injury and then we feel another one. I had in my ankle, then somewhere in shoulder, then I sat together with my team and my physio and then we work on every part." But ahead of his competitive return, Chopra said, "I feel really good and fit, let's see tomorrow."

It was in Doha that Chopra, under the mentorship of javelin world record holder Jan Zelezny, breached the coveted 90m mark after trying for a long time with a throw of 90.23m.

But Chopra revealed that the milestone throw here on May 16, 2025 was not technically the best by him.

"Technically, that throw was not that good, it was really fast from the arm but if I had done better with my lower body, that may be (added) two to three metre more. I looked at the video not so many times," Chopra explained.

"I really like my qualification round throws in the Olympics or World Championships because I feel really relaxed and throw far. But whenever I compete in finals or in main competition, I always try really hard, very aggressive, then I forget my technique.

"I really like to see my qualification round throws as they are technically better."

I need my ideas: Neeraj on split with Zelezny

Chopra parted ways with Zelezny in January this year after working with him for a year, and he said it was because he needed his own ideas now.

"Zlezny was a great athlete and he was a really good coach also. We worked on a few specific things, I'm happy that I broke 90m under him. I had to stay in one place to hold the season, that was not possible for me. So we decided after Tokyo World Championships maybe I need to work with my ideas, so work with an Indian coach.

"He (Jaiveer Chaudhary) is my senior. I started javelin throw with him so he knows my story from last 15-16 years. He knows my training plans and everything, so now we work on my technique. We are not working anything specific, very deep on anything. I'm working on my natural technique."

CWG and Asian Games in 2026

Chopra said not having the Olympics or the World Championships gives "a little bit of mental relaxation", but asserted that it will still be a busy season with the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games coming up later in the year.

He has been named in India's 32-member athletics team for the CWG, subject to breaching 82.61m, which is not a tall task by his high standards.

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July-August will see tough competition with the likes of season leader Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage of Sri Lanka, who threw 92.62m earlier this month, Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, Trinidad and Tobago's reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott and two-time world champion Anderson Peters likely to be in the fray.

"All of them have thrown 90m, so Commonwealth Games will not be less (competitive) than Olympics or World Championships, it will be a really tough competition," said Chopra, who said he "plans" to compete in the Asian Games in Japan in September-October.

Wind assistance to javelin throwers in Doha

Doha DL has seen big 90m throws with two of the top five of all time having been recorded here by Thomas Roller (93.90m) in 2017 and Anderson Peters (93.07m) in 2022.

Asked how he would adapt technically to using the wind to his best advantage, Chopra said, "Sometime, I also throw against the wind here that was not good. We really need to understand how we can use the wind.

"In javelin throw, we can use wind for runway speed, it really helps. Also, if we point up (the spear) a little bit high and the wind pushes a little bit from behind the javelin, then it helps.

"But if you throw really flat, then I don't think so it (wind) will help you. So, you need your mind to throw if you want to use wind."