Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra has withdrawn from the Ostrava Golden Spike event on May 28 due to an adductor injury sustained during training.

“Due to an injury that he sustained in training two weeks ago (adductor muscle) he will not be able to throw in Ostrava, but he will arrive at the event as a guest,” the organisers said in a statement.

However, the 26-year-old Indian star later took to his handle on X, formerly known as Twitter, to quash the reports of any serious injury. The reigning Olympic champion, however, claimed that he complained more of a niggle in his adductor. Hence, decided to pull out of Ostrava.

"Hello everyone! Following a recent throwing session, I decided not to compete in Ostrava as I felt something in my adductor. I have had problems with it in the past and pushing it at this stage can lead to injury. Just to clarify, I am not injured but don't want to take any risk during the Olympic year so had to take this decision. Once I feel it's fully recovered, I will get back to competitions. Thank you for your support," Neeraj posted on X.

The world champion will be replaced by Germany's European champion, Julian Weber, who achieved a throw of 88.37 meters on Friday, marking the third-best throw of the year.

Joining the elite fray is Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch, who won the last edition with a throw of 81.93m.

Neeraj started his season at the Doha Diamond League last week, securing second place with a final throw of 88.36m, the ninth-best mark of his illustrious career.

Earlier this month, Neeraj competed at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar, winning the gold medal with a throw of 82.27 meters. Neeraj was competing in an event in India for the first time since becoming the Olympic champion three years ago. His last competition in India was at the Federation Cup in March 2021, where he secured the gold medal with a throw of 87.80 meters.

As Neeraj Chopra takes time to recover, fans eagerly await his return to the field, hoping to witness more of his remarkable throws. The next event will be the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland on June 18.