Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra ruled out of Commonwealth Games 2022 due to THIS reason

Neeraj Chopra injury rules him out of javelin event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

In a huge blow to Indian medal hopes, Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra has been ruled out of the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2022, which get underway on Thursday (July 28) due to injury. The javelin star had hinted that he was not completely fit when he competed in the final at the World Athletics Championships 2022 in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday (July 24).

“Team India javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra had called me earlier today from the US to convey his inability to take part in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games owing to fitness concerns. Following his participation in the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Neeraj had an MRI scan done on Monday and, based on it, he has been advised a month’s rest by his medical team,” IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta said in a statement on Tuesday (July 26).

Neeraj, who became the first man to win a medal at the World Athletics, was the defending champion in the CWG having won gold at the Gold Coast Games back in 2018. In his absence, Anderson Peters of Grenada, who won gold in the World Athletics Championships on Sunday will be the favourite to become the new champion.

The Indian javelin star had been in fine form this season. At the Worlds, Neeraj had come up with a throw of 88.13m to finish with a silver. Earlier this month, Neeraj had broken his own national record with a throw of 89.94m at the Stockholm Diamond League event.

The star athlete has improved his personal best twice – he recorded a 89.30m throw on June 14 at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland before sending his spear to 89.94m, just 6cm shy of 90m, in the prestigious Stockholm Diamond League Meeting on June 30.

Our Olympic Champ @Neeraj_chopra1 will not be defending his title at @birminghamcg22 due to concerns regarding his fitness. We wish him a speedy recovery & are supporting him in these challenging times.#EkIndiaTeamIndia #WeareTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/pPg7SYlrSm — Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) July 26, 2022

Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m, had competed in the 2017 London World Championships with the hope of at least making it to the finals but managed only 82.26m to fall short of the automatic qualification mark of 83m.

He had also missed the 2019 World Championships in Doha as he was recovering from an elbow surgery.