Neeraj Chopra is not sure how much more he will compete in this season as treating his groin injury remains the priority of the Tokyo Olympic champion. (More Sports News)
The 26-year-old, who clinched silver at the Paris Olympics, finished second in the men's javelin throw competition at Thursday's Lausanne Diamond League. Grenada's Anderson Peters, who claimed bronze at the Paris Olympics, won the Lausanne Diamond League with a best throw of 90.61m.
Chopra had a slow start on Thursday but came back strongly in his last two attempts to climb to the second spot. The 26-year-old credited his Kenyan counterpart Julius Yego for giving the Indian the advice that calmed him down.
In his first four throws, Chopra looked off-colour as he could not even cross 84m.
"In the first throw, I thought I will do this, I will do that but in the last throw, I did not, also Julius Yego said 'relax, you will throw far'. I tried to relax," he said talking to the host broadcaster in the mixed zone.
The Indian superstar then managed an 85.58m throw in the fifth attempt to jump into the top three in the tally, gaining an extra sixth throw. The top three after the first five attempts are awarded an extra throw.
In his last throw, Chopra got his season best 89.49m but even that was not enough to topple Peters from the top spot who had breached the 90m mark in his final throw.
"(Anderson) Peters threw 90m, my body didn't feel good but the fighting spirit was nice today. I really liked my comeback. In the last throw I didn't think too much, just gave my best," Chopra said.
Talking about how much more he will compete in the season, Chopra said: "May be two or one competition and then finish the season. I am not sure, may be Brussels (Diamond League finale)."
However, the priority for him remains to be 100% fit as he looks to fully resolve his groin issue. "First goal, go to the doctor and make my groin 100 per cent fit and also I will be technically better and try to throw far again," he said.
Neeraj is currently at the third spot in the diamond league standings with the top six set to compete in Brussels in the final scheduled for September 14.
