Chopra focussing on rehabilitation of his back injury, season opener not known yet: Sumariwalla

New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is focussing on rehabilitation of his back injury he had suffered just before the World Championships last September and has not yet decided when and where to start the season, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said on Saturday.

Chopra competed in the World Championships in Tokyo in September 2025 with a back injury and he finished a lowly eighth with a best throw of 84.03m, a far cry from the season and personal best of 90.23m in May last.

"He (Chopra) is taking a break. He recovering from his injuries. He had two injuries. The focus is on rehabilitation, I think that is the most important thing, not the opener," AFI spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla said when asked about Chopra's likely opening event of the season.

"Hats off to him that he took part in the world championships. I have seen his injury, the swelling, and he still took part. We told him, don't do it. He said 'no sir, I will try'. He never said a word like 'I couldn't throw because of my injury'," Sumariwalla said while addressing a press conference here.

Lauding the attitude of Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist and world championships title winner, former AFI president Sumariwalla said, "There is only one Neeraj Chopra. I have seen people who have not done a thousandth of the performance of Neeraj Chopra talk so much that they want this, they want that. But this poor guy (Neeraj) doesn't say anything. Hats off to him." Last year, Chopra began the season in April in a low-key event in South Africa before the high-stake Diamond League competition in May in Doha where he breached the 90m mark. In 2024, he began with the Doha Diamond League in May.

Recently, Chopra had shared pictures of the wedding reception he had thrown in his home state on his social media accounts. He had married former tennis player Himani Mor in a private ceremony early in 2025.

On why only Chopra and Sachin Yadav in AIU's RTP list ================================== In the latest Registered Testing Pool for dope testing released by the Athletics Integrity Unit set up by the World Athletics, Chopra and another javelin thrower Sachin Yadav were the only Indians to be in the list.

Asked if more Indians could be in the list moving forward, Sumariwalla said, "AIU is an independent body. They don't report to World Athletics, nor to anyone. So, we don't know what their annual plan is.

"Normally, when it comes to Olympics, World Championships, testing will increase. Those they know who are going to qualify for the Ultimate Championships (In Budapest later this year), the AIU will definitely be tracking those people.

"AIU has seen Neeraj and Sachin as the only two people who could be in the Ultimate Championships from India at the moment. So, they are tracking them. Just as they can see more people coming into the Ultimate Championships, they will track them," said Sumariwalla who is also a World Athletics vice president and executive board member.

Yadav had outperformed Chopra, finishing a creditable fourth with a best throw of 86.27m in the 2025 Tokyo World Championships.

On Saturday, the AFI also released the qualifying standards for the Asian Games in Japan later this year. An athlete will have to mandatorily take part in state meets or two events organised by the AFI to be considered for selection, unless he or she gets permission to skip an event.

The National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships to be held in Bhubaneswar from July 8-12 will be the last major event before the Asian Games (September 19 to October 4).

Chopra to be exempted from competing in domestic events for Asian Games selection ============================================== Sumariwalla indicated that Chopra could be exempted from this rule just like earlier seasons as he will be competing in big-ticket global events like the Diamond League series.

"An athlete will have to fulfil mandatory number of events unless he has taken permission. Last year Neeraj took permission that he was doing Diamond League events on the same day or one day up or down (date of domestic events). 'So, you please consider my performance in these events'.

"We said fine. We are not foolish to restrict our athletes," said Sumariwalla who has recently been made AFI senior selection committee chairman.

"There is only one Neeraj but for others, it is the same rule. An athlete has to seek permission if he or she is not taking part in domestic events. And then the final call lies with the selection committee whether to approve or not." PTI PDS BS BS