Neeraj Chopra on Doha Return: “I Have To Move Forward Step By Step” | MyKhel

After 274 days away from competition, India’s javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra is finally back. His return came at the Doha Diamond League 2026, where he finished fourth with a best throw of 85.69m.

The result was much bigger than a position on the leaderboard. It was the beginning of a new journey after months of injuries, rehabilitation and uncertainty.

The Doha event, usually famous for producing 90m-plus throws, turned out to be a difficult competition for many athletes. Sri Lanka’s rising sensation Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage stole the spotlight with an impressive 88.68m throw to claim victory.

Behind him were reigning World Championships silver medallist Anderson Peters (86.38m) and reigning World Championships bronze medallist Curtis Thompson (85.99m).

For Neeraj, however, the biggest victory was simply being back on the runway. The 85.69m effort was enough to achieve the Athletics Federation of India’s qualification mark for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, keeping another major target firmly in sight.

The very next day, Neeraj received another honour as he was named the Best Male Athlete of the Year 2025 at the inaugural Indian Athletics Awards in New Delhi. This was not the aggressive, medal-hungry Neeraj that fans have become used to seeing over the years.

This was a calmer, wiser and more patient version of the Olympic champion. Over the past several months, he had to recover from multiple injuries, including problems in his Achilles, back, shoulder, elbow and a recurring groin issue. Instead of rushing his comeback, he chose to trust the rehabilitation process.

Usually, Neeraj begins throwing in January or February. This year, he only restarted throwing in May. And that changed his entire perspective.

The 28-year-old double Olympic medallist and a former world champion told media on the sidelines of inaugural AFI Awards in New Delhi said, “I’m feeling better than before, but I can’t say that I’m back to my previous level yet. I’m slowly getting there. There was no pressure on me; I just wanted to compete and do what I had been doing in training. I didn’t want to force anything. I simply wanted a good throw, and I got 85.69m, which I was satisfied with.”

“If I had been the old Neeraj, I wouldn’t have accepted finishing third or fourth, and I wouldn’t have been satisfied with an 85m throw either. But this time, I understood where I stood and knew I had to move forward step by step,” the Haryana-born athlete told media after bagging the AFI Male Athlete of the Year 2025.

Those words perfectly capture his current mindset. Neeraj admitted that this has been one of the toughest injury periods of his career. “This time, I wasn’t dealing with just one injury. I had two or three injuries. I had an Achilles injury in my blocking leg, as well as injuries in my back, shoulder and elbow. I had also been dealing with a recurring groin issue for a long time.”

“I decided to stay patient and focus on rehabilitation first. There was no need to rush. Normally, I begin throwing in January or February, but this year I only started in May. So, I had to take things slowly,” he added further.

For an athlete who has spent years chasing excellence, learning to slow down may have been his biggest challenge. One of the biggest stories in world javelin this year has been the emergence of Sri Lanka’s 23-year-old sensation, Rumesh Pathirage.

After producing a stunning 92.62m throw in Rome earlier this season, he has quickly become one of the world’s most exciting athletes. Neeraj is not surprised by his rapid rise. The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and the first javelin champion from Asia said, “Rumesh is very talented. I met him last year, and I felt that he would produce some very good throws in the future. I was very happy to see his progress.”

“There is a lot of competition in South Asia now, and both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games are going to be extremely tough. This is a positive sign because the event is receiving more attention in this region. More new talents will emerge.”

For now, Neeraj is not looking too far ahead. The Commonwealth Games, Diamond League events, Asian Games and ultimately the World Athletics Championships are all on his calendar.

But there is no rush. “Right now, I plan to participate in the Commonwealth Games. After that, there will be some Diamond League events and the Asian Games. The biggest event will be the World Athletics Championships. If I qualify naturally through the rankings, that will be good.”

This comeback is not about immediate success. It is about building momentum again. The medals can wait. The big throws can wait.

For Neeraj Chopra, the most important thing is that the journey has finally restarted. And if history has taught us anything, it is that when Neeraj takes one step forward, bigger moments are never too far away.