Rohit Yadav, one of the leading male javelin throwers of the country, has gone through a surgery to treat a ligament tear in his right elbow and will miss the upcoming World athletics championships and the Asian Games.
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Rohit, who was operated upon by Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala in Mumbai 11 days ago, has set a target of returning to competition in the middle of next year.
“It was a complete ligament tear in my elbow (of my throwing arm). There was hardly any option. The other option was to take injections in the elbow to compete, but the doctor said there was no guarantee that I would be able to perform well because the elbow might not be stable,” Rohit told The Hindu on Friday.
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“Had I gone with the second option, it might have affected the Olympic year. Since there was pain in the elbow, how long could injections help! It would have wasted time. Rather, I will use the time to complete my rehab.
“I can compete only next year. The doctor has said that I can resume training in six months. The new season will start in March, but I will try to start training in February and take part in competitions in May or June.
“I will have two months, May and June, to qualify for the Olympics. I never thought such a thing would happen,” said Rohit, who aggravated the elbow issue at the inter-State meet in Bhubaneswar in June.
Rohit, who got two of his best throws — 83.40m in May and 83.28 in June — and was the third-best Indian thrower behind Neeraj Chopra (88.67m) and D.P. Manu (84.33m) and 18th in the world this season until Kishore Jena achieved his personal best (84.38m) on Friday, was in the reckoning for the World championships as the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) thought of sending four male javelin throwers to the elite event. He had also qualified for the Asian championships and the Asian Games, but pulled out from this month’s continental championships due to the injury.