Aug 29 (Reuters) - Former Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra has ended his 2026 season early after sustaining a ligament tear during training, the javelin thrower announced in an Instagram post on Saturday, three weeks before the Asian Games.
The 28-year-old Indian, who took gold at the Tokyo Olympics and won silver in Paris, placed second in the Lausanne Diamond League with a throw of 88.05 metres last week, but suffered the injury soon after, getting sidelined for a long period for the second time in a year.
"After discussions with my doctor and team, we've decided that I will sit out the rest of this season," Chopra posted.
"It's disappointing, especially because I felt close to finding my rhythm. But as they say, setbacks are a part of the journey."
Chopra, who was dealing with lower back discomfort since 2023, aggravated a disc injury in September 2025 during training. He went into a nine-month rehabilitation period after the Tokyo World Championships, and returned in June.
He had qualified for the Diamond League finals next week, and was a medal hope for India at next month's Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
"My focus now is on recovering well and coming back even stronger," Chopra added.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Alex Richardson)
