Neeraj Chopra reveals competing in Diamond League Final with fractured hand, shares scans after 2nd-placed finish to season

India’s javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra revealed that he had featured in Saturday night’s Diamond League Final with a fractured hand.

Battling in the seven-man javelin final, Neeraj ended his season with a second-place finish behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters by only one centimetre.

Neeraj’s third attempt of 87.86 metres was only bettered by Peters’ 87.87-metre throw in his first try. Germany’s Julian Weber, with his best attempt of 85.97 metres, finished third.

Neeraj, who has also been in discomfort with a groin niggle during the recent Paris Olympics, revealed that he had suffered a fracture in his left hand during training earlier this week.

“As the 2024 season ends, I look back on everything I’ve learned through the year – about improvement, setbacks, mentality and more.

“On Monday, I injured myself in practice and x-rays showed that I had fractured the fourth metacarpal in my left hand. It was another painful challenge for me. But with the help of my team, I was able to participate in Brussels,” the 26-year-old Chopra wrote on X on Sunday.

As the 2024 season ends, I look back on everything I’ve learned through the year – about improvement, setbacks, mentality and more.

On Monday, I injured myself in practice and x-rays showed that I had fractured the fourth metacarpal in my left hand. It was another painful… pic.twitter.com/H8nRkUkaNM

— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) September 15, 2024

The 26-year-old Indian, who had won the Diamond League trophy in 2022 before finishing second last year, had booked a place in the Brussels final after finishing fourth in the overall DL standings. The Paris Olympics silver medallist secured 14 points from his back-to-back second-place finishes in Doha and Lausanne.

“This was the last competition of the year, and I wanted to end my season on the track. While I couldn’t meet my own expectations, I feel this was a season in which I learned a lot. I am now determined to return, fully fit and ready to go. I want to thank all of you for your encouragement. 2024 has made me a better athlete and person. See you in 2025,” Chopra added.

The Tokyo Olympic champion’s best throw this season came last month in the Laussane leg of the Diamond League, with an attempt of 89.49m, his career second-best, and four centimetres more than his silver-medal-winning attempt in Paris a fortnight before.

He had won the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League in 2022 and 2023 and finished second behind Jakub Vadlejch in the winner-takes-all finale in Eugene, USA, last year.

– With PTI inputs

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