Neeraj Chopra, India’s javelin throw champion, finished eighth at the World Championships in Tokyo on Thursday, marking a disappointing end to his season.Chopra, who was experiencing back pain since early this month, managed a throw of 84.03 meters before being eliminated in the fifth round of finals.Debutant Sachin Yadav surpassed Chopra’s performance with a throw of 86.27 meters, securing fourth place in the competition.“It’s not how I had hoped to end the season, at the World Championships in Tokyo. I wanted to step out there and give my best for India despite all the challenges but it wasn’t my night,” Chopra wrote on X.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“I’m really happy for Sachin, who threw a personal best and almost brought home a medal. Congratulations to @keshorn_walcott, @peters_oly and @Curt_Thompson on their well-deserved podium places.“Grateful for all your support, this only makes me determined to come back stronger.”Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott claimed gold with 88.16 meters, while Grenada’s Anderson Peters secured silver with 87.38 meters, and American Curtis Thompson took bronze with 86.67 meters.The 27-year-old athlete from Haryana, who holds two Olympic medals, expressed his determination to return stronger.“I do not understand what happened today. This has not happened for a long time,” Neeraj admitted after the competition, as quoted by Olympics.com.“I had some problems before coming to Tokyo. Two weeks ago, I had some back issues, but I did not want to tell anyone. I was thinking I would still manage to get through it. But javelin is really tough. If you are not in a good shape, you are out,” he added.Neeraj, who became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the World Championships two years back in Budapest, said that he will take his learnings from a rare setback.“It is OK. I will learn from today. Maybe I need more training or to improve my technique. Maybe I just need more time for training. But it is life, it is sport. I have to accept it and move on,” he added.
