Olympic gold medalist Chopra achieved another historic feat on Thursday when he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League Finals title in Zurich, closing the international season on a lively note.
A day later, he was asked about participating in the National Games, which will be held in Gujarat cities from September 29 to October 12.
“The National Games are coming up. I just got back from a groin injury and I might not be able to train for a week or two, so my main focus is next year,” Chopra said. to journalists.
With the IOA forcing the country’s top athletes into the Games, many athletes may have to revise their training schedules.
The IOA directive came after Home Minister Amit Shah launched the Games mascot and anthem, which the Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said would be the “greatest and grandest” of all time.
The National Games take place after a seven-year hiatus.
The groin problem forced Chopra to skip the Commonwealth Games in July-August, just after the World Championships in the United States, where he won a silver medal.
But Chopra had made a spectacular comeback from a month-long injury layoff by winning the Lausanne stage of the diamond league series on August 26 and qualify for the final here.
He became the first Indian to win a Diamond League title in Lausanne with his third best career throw at 89.08m.
In Zurich, Chopra started with a foul but took first place with a throw of 88.44m – his fourth career best – on his second attempt, and it proved to be his winning effort.
He shot 88.00m, 86.11m, 87.00m and 83.60m on his next four throws.
olympic silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch from the Czech Republic finished second with a best throw of 86.94m he recorded on his fourth attempt. German Julian Weber finished third with a record 83.73m.