Neeraj Chopra expected to be fit by end of June; Hima Das to miss Asian Games

Neeraj Chopra, who has missed back-to-back tournaments in Europe due to a hamstring injury, is expected to be fit by the end of this month, said AFI coach Radhakrishnan Nair while attending a press conference for Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday (June 14, 2023).

"He (Neeraj) has started his training last week and should be in good health by the end of this month," said the Athletics Federation of India coach. Neeraj Chopra, along with steeplechaser Avinash Sable, has been granted exemption from the Inter-State Athletics Championships. The rest of the athletes have been asked to compete in the event in order to qualify for the Asian Games.

Sprinter Hima Das, who hasn't competed in any event this season, has skipped the five-day event as well. Coach Radhakrishnan said that Hima is reeling with a long-term hamstring injury and will miss the Asian Games in September-October as well.

Hima had won a 400m individual silver at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. She was also a part of the gold and silver winning women's 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relay quartet in Jakarta. However, the runner has switched to 100m and 200m dash due to a mysterious injury.

"It is unfortunate she (Hima) was injured a day before the Indian Grand Prix IV in Bengaluru (on April 15). She pulled a hamstring and also had back problem. Now, medical investigation is going on and planning for treatment. I believe that she will not be able to participate in the Asian Games as per the policy of the AFI," Nair said.

Nair also said that officials from the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) will also carry out 'In Competition' (IC) testing at the Kalinga Stadium.

"I am 100 per cent sure that NADA officials are coming. They could be from Kolkata or some from Delhi also. During the Federation Cup in Ranchi (last month), there was a team of 7-8 officials.

"Now, NADA is very strict, they are appointing so many officials, so they would be coming here also," Nair said during a rare pre-championship press conference.

Nair said the AFI plans to send a big contingent of at least 60 athletes to compete at the July 12 to 16 Asian Athletics Championship scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand. The team will be declared after a selection review meeting on June 20.

"We have done a preliminary selection and there were athletes who could not participate in the Federation Cup (last month) as they were training abroad. They have to confirm their performance in the Inter-State. We will have a selection review meeting on June 20 and then we will declare the team," he said.

"For example, Tejaswin Shankar has done one decathlon event and he must qualify for Asian Championships with the qualifying mark of 7500 aggregate points in the Inter-State." Chopra and Sable will also not participate in the Asian Championship as their main focus is on the World Championship in Hungary (August 19-27).

With inputs from PTI