Kuortane Games: Fans sweat over Neeraj Chopra's injury worry post nasty fall in wet runway

The Tokyo Olympics 2020 gold medal-winner for India, Neeraj Chopra made headlines on Saturday night for his enthralling performance in the Kuortone Games 2022. Chopra clinched the gold medal at the Javelin throw event at Kourtone Games by throwing to a record distance of 86.69m in his first attempt and continued his stellar form in the new season. However, Chopra tripped and crashed on the ground during his third attempt in the event under wet conditions, which sparked worries about the 24-year-old picking up an injury.

However, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) took to their official Twitter handle, later in the night, and revealed that Chopra narrowly escaped an injury. “News from Kuortane: All well with @Neeraj_chopra1 after that bad slip on his third attempt. Nothing to worry. Well done #NeerajChopra, congrats for one more top class performance,” AFI said.

Fans sweat over Neeraj Chopra's injury concern

The Indian sporting fans, who seemed to be sweating over the injury concern for Chopra, were relieved to know about the development, as they put out any tweets about the same. “Hope @Neeraj_chopra1 hasn't a major injury after that slip. He won the tournament though,” a fan said. On the other hand, on noticing AFI’s update, another fan tweeted, “So reassuring to know that. Thanks for the update!”. Good to know champion is injury free!,” another user added. 

More about Neeraj Chopra's stellar show in the 2022 season

During his gold-medal-winning show, Chopra recorded a distance of 86.69m in his first attempt amid rainy conditions in Finland. He made an intentional foul in his second attempt before going all-in for the third attempt. His first attempt was enough to clinch him the gold medal, as Grenadian athlete Anderson Peters finished third with a throw of 84.75m, while Keshorn Walcott finished second with an 86.64m throw. It is pertinent to mention that Chopra earlier defeated Peters at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, earlier this week, with a national record throw of 89.30m.

Having said that, Chopra now aims at the upcoming big event, the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he will face a lot of competition. Earlier in the week, speaking to SAI after winning the silver medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games, Chopra said, “This was my first competition since the Tokyo Olympics and it went really well, as, in the first competition itself, I hit my personal best throw and also won the Silver Medal. Now I am aiming for the next few events which will be bigger than this and of course, the Commonwealth Games, where I will face a lot of competition”.

(Image: @ianuragthakur/@peterspeaking/Twitter)