India's Golden Boy Neeraj Chopra Opens Up On An Early Setback That Threatened His Athletic Journey: 'My Wrist Was Fractured...'

Two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra revealed an incident in his early career that almost ended his career in javelin before it even started.

Neeraj Chopra Reflects On An Injury Which He Suffered Early In His Career

While having a casual chat in a video, Neeraj Chopra opened up on an injury that he suffered during the early stage of his career. The Olympic gold medalist revealed that he fractured his wrist not while training. Chopra added that he was holding the basketball ring and suddenly fell from it, from which he broke his wrist.

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He added that his wrist had to be in plaster for a long time. Neeraj Chopra further shocked his fans by saying that the fracture took place in the same hand that he uses now to throw the javelin.

“I suffered an injury very early in my career. It was not during my training but while I was doing some mischief. So, I was holding the basketball ring while jumping and fell suddenly. My wrist was fractured, and it had to be in plaster for a long time. It was the same hand that I used to throw the javelin,” Neeraj Chopra said in a video shared on the social media handle of the students' learning app, Duolingo.

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The 27-year-old revealed that the doctors said that the injury could hinder his career.

“I felt that I won’t be able to throw again as doctors said that it is a complicated injury,” he added.

Neeraj Chopra further added that it was his mindset that kept him strong throughout his journey.

“It was thought, but the dream of playing for India kept me going. As soon as I started feeling better, I knew I had to do it again. It was my dream that kept my mindset strong,” he concluded.

Neeraj Chopra Breached 90m Mark At Diamond League

In the 2025 Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj Chopra clinched the gold medal with a throw of 87.58m. Later in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 27-year-old missed out on the gold medal just for a whisker. However, Neeraj won the silver medal in the Paris Olympics with a 89.45m throw.

After waiting for a long time, Neeraj Chopra finally breached the 90 m mark at the 2025 Diamond League in Doha by marking a 90.23m throw.