CHENNAI: The Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) tendency to make u-turns in the eleventh hour is becoming a trend of late. Before the World Championships in Doha, some of those decisions included Hima Das’s participation in the event and whether Dharun Ayyasamy will be part of the 4x400m relay teams. Now, it is about Neeraj Chopra’s comeback.
A day after the AFI accepted javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s name to participate at the 59th National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi, this newspaper has learnt that they do not want to rush Neeraj back so soon and want him to wait for a little longer before making a competitive comeback.
However, according to a top official, the final decision is left to the athlete himself. In a late development, it is understood that he will not be travelling to Ranchi.
In 2016, Indian athletics got a new star in Neeraj as he bagged gold (86.48m) in the javelin event at the IAAF World U-20 Championships. Among others on the podium then was one Anderson Peters from Grenada. Peters got a bronze medal with a throw of 79.65m. A few days back at the World Championships in Doha, as Peters cruised to gold in the men’s javelin final, Neeraj was helplessly watching him on the television.
On Tuesday, the news of Neeraj’s return was trending. When this newspaper spoke to Neeraj before this development, the reigning Commonwealth and Asian Games champion couldn’t wait to get back on the track. "My target is just to participate. It has been frustrating for me to sit and watch from the sidelines since last year. This is this year’s last competition and I just want to get the feel of it. The rehab went really well. I actually took more time out than what was told to me. I didn’t want to risk anything. I was not feeling good about staying away from the track. But I did not think about it much as there is no use. It will only heal in time," Neeraj said.
Neeraj had been training under foreign coach Uwe Hohn before he went under the knife in May. As part of the elite athlete’s program, Neeraj was in South Africa when he felt uneasiness in his elbow and returned to India. While he has been recovering well, the Panipat native is not sure when he can rejoin his coach. However, both have been exchanging messages and have been in touch throughout rehabilitation.
“He (Hohn) is still abroad. As of now, I don’t know what the plan is regarding training. I will sit down with AFI and discuss what’s best. But I have been in touch with him. It was just basic stuff. He was asking me how I was doing and details about the rehab process.”