NEW DELHI: After recovering from a muscle strain Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra is set to make his return to competition at the sixth stage of the Diamond League in Lausanne on June 30.
The organisers of this renowned athletics meet have included the name of the Indian star, currently ranked number one in the world, in the javelin throw event.
Alongside Neeraj, the prestigious competition will also feature two other prominent Indian athletes. Jeswin Aldrin and Sreeshankar, both accomplished long jumpers, have been entered in the long jump event, further adding to India's representation at the event.
"In the javelin, the Indian Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will be challenged by the Czech Jakub Vadlejch and German Julian Weber," the official website of the competition stated recently.
Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj had announced on Twitter last month that he had sustained a muscle strain during his training and, as a precautionary measure, he had pulled out of the FBK Games in the Netherlands (June 4) and the Paavo Nurmi meet in Finland (June 13).
The 25-year-old also missed the recently-concluded National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.
He also has a scheduled tournament at the Golden Spike Ostrava in the Czech Republic on June 27.
The 25-year-old had won the Doha Diamond League on May 5 with a throw of 88.67m, capping off a perfect start to the season.
There is also the World Championships (August 19-27) in Budapest, Hungary, which is the major event this year, along with the Diamond League Finals and the Asian Games.
With his gold in Tokyo in 2021, Neeraj created history by becoming the first Indian to win an individual Olympic medal in athletics.
(With PTI inputs)
