Ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has opted out of Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet, scheduled in the Czech Republic on 27 June
The reigning Olympic champion doesn’t feature in the entry list for the meet as he is not fully recovered from a muscle strain he suffered during training last month, which led to his withdrawal from the FBK Games in the Netherlands on June 4 and the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland on 13 June .
He also missed the recently concluded National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.
However, the 25-year-Old Indian , top ranked in the javelin throw by World Athletics, is expected to participate at the Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland on 30 June.
The Ostrava Golden Spike is a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet and the organisers had earlier announced Neeraj Chopra’s participation in this year’s event.
The javelin throw event at the Ostrava Golden Spike however, will feature prominent throwers including Grenada’s reigning world champion Anderson Peters and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch.
Last year, Neeraj Chopra created history by becoming the first Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League finals in Eugene, USA.
The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medalist began his Diamond League title defence with a first-place finish at the Doha Diamond League in May. The Doha meet, though, has been Neeraj Chopra’s only competitive outing this year till now.
The Indian is currently training at the Kuortane Olympic Training Centre in Finland, with an eye on the World Athletics Championships in August and the Asian Games in September-October.
