India’s medal hopes at the upcoming Asian Games suffered a big blow on Saturday (August 29, 2026) with Neeraj Chopra ruling himself out with injury.
Chopra, who managed a season’s best of 88.05m at the recent Lausanne Diamond League , announced a premature end to his season through his social media account. Chopra opened his season quite late this year after a long recovery period with the Doha Diamond League in June, finishing 4th with an 85.69m throw. “After a period of hard work, I finally felt I was gaining the momentum I had been looking for with a Season’s Best throw in Lausanne. “Unfortunately, shortly after, I sustained a ligament tear in my ankle during training. After discussions with my doctor and team, we’ve decided that I will sit out the rest of this season,” he wrote. He followed it up with silver at the Commonwealth Games and the Lausanne event.
The decision means he will miss three big competitions through the rest of the year — the Diamond League Final (September 5), World Athletics Ultimate (September 13) and the Asian Games. With Rohit Yadav already named as the second thrower in the provisional Indian squad, potential alternatives include Yashvir, who won bronze at the CWG in Glasgow. However, his name is not on the current long list sent to the organisers. The final official squad is yet to be named.