Neeraj Chopra reveals he took part in Diamond League final with fracture in left hand
Brussels, Sep 15: Double Olympic medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Sunday revealed that he took part in the Diamond League season finale here despite a fracture in his non-throwing left hand which he sustained during a training session.
On Saturday, Chopra came agonisingly close to winning the Diamond League crown before missing it by a single centimeter to finish as runner-up for the second consecutive year with a throw of 87.86m here.
"On Monday, I injured myself in practice and x-rays showed that I had fractured the fourth metacarpal in my left hand. It was another painful challenge for me. But with the help of my team, I was able to participate in Brussels," the 26-year-old said on his social media handle.
Metacarpals, also known as palm bones, are the bones that lie between the fingers and the wrist in a human hand. There are five metacarpals in each hand, with each bone being associated with a specific finger.
Chopra, who throws with his right hand, was beaten for the gold by two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada who sent his spear to 87.87m in his first attempt. This was Chopra's second consecutive Diamond League runner-up finish after winning the crown in 2022.
He normally falls down with his left palm touching the ground in the follow through after releasing the spear. On Saturday, in all his six attempts, Chopra avoided falling down and touching the ground with his left palm.
The Haryana athlete had been struggling with his fitness this year and is expected to meet a doctor soon to rectify a groin injury that has affected him all season and came in the way of his quest to hit the elusive 90m mark.
This hand injury is a new one and he did not elaborate much on it. This fracture may need a few months to heal.
Chopra, who added a silver to his Olympic medal tally in Paris following a historic gold at the Tokyo Games, thus ended his season on a high.
But he admitted that he could not meet his own expectations in the season.
"This was the last competition of the year, and I wanted to end my season on the track. While I couldn’t meet my own expectations, I feel this was a season in which I learned a lot. I am now determined to return, fully fit and ready to go," he said.
Reflecting on his season, he said, "As the 2024 season ends, I look back on everything I’ve learned through the year - about improvement, setbacks, mentality and more.
"I want to thank all of you for your encouragement. 2024 has made me a better athlete and person. See you in 2025."
The Haryana athlete remained consistent throughout the season, though he won just one international event this season, the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on June 18.
He had made the Diamond League final cut after finishing fourth in the overall standings with 14 points from his two second-place finishes in DL one-day meets in Doha and Lausanne on May 10 and August 22 respectively.
Next season's major event is the World Championships in Tokyo (September 13-21) where Chopra would aim to defend the gold he had won in 2023. He has already qualified for the World Championships after breaching the entry mark of 85.50m.
The window for achieving the qualification standard is August 1, 2024 to August 24, 2025.
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Chamoli hydropower tunnel train collision: 88 injured, magisterial probe ordered
Gopeshwar/Dehradun (PTI): Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar on Wednesday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collision between two loco trains inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the under-construction Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydropower project, which left 88 people injured.
Earlier in the day, Kumar said that the accident occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday at the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) site inside the tunnel being built by THDC (India).
A loco train carrying workers for tunnel excavation during the night shift was about two kilometres inside the tunnel when another loco train coming from the opposite direction lost control and collided with it.
One of the trains had workers and officials on board, while the other carried material.
Upon receiving information about the collision, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered proper treatment for the injured. He spoke to the DM over the phone and instructed him to ensure that all the injured receive the best possible medical facilities.
DM Kumar and Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar met the injured at the Gopeshwar District Hospital.
Kumar said 109 people were on board the loco train at the time of the accident, most of them labourers. None of the injured was serious, he said.
He said that 88 of them were injured, although none of them are in serious condition. They said that 84 workers were discharged after receiving first aid, while four are still hospitalized.
DM Kumar and SP Panwar also inspected the project site and sought detailed information about the incident from the project officials.
They instructed them to strictly implement all necessary safety standards to prevent a recurrence of such an incident in the future.
After inspection, the DM issued orders for a magisterial inquiry into the accident caused by the collision of the loco trains.
Meanwhile, the Railways said the trains involved in the collision had no connection with it.
"It is clarified that this unfortunate incident occurred in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, involving a trolley used in the local transportation system during the construction of a hydroelectric project tunnel. The train referred to in the news reports is not an Indian Railways train, but a transportation system being used locally by the project team," the government entity said in a statement.
According to officials, rail-like vehicles are used to transport workers, employees, and materials for construction work inside the tunnel.
The project, being built between Helang and Pipalkoti on the Alaknanda River, will generate 444 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. The project is targeted for completion by next year.
