Paris: For an athlete who'd just won a silver medal to add to a gold from the previous Games, Neeraj Chopra was more in reflective mood rather than celebratory soon after the men's javelin throw final of the Paris Olympics.

Chopra's gold-silver double at the Olympics is unparalleled in Indian sport, and puts the country's javelin star in a league of his own. However, he had more pressing issues to look at in the immediate aftermath of finishing second at these Games with a best throw of 88.54m.

The long-standing groin issue has been a bother for a few years now, and it keeps cropping up to peg him back. It also, more significantly, has prevented him from delivering bigger throws; like that of gold medallist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan who rewrote the Olympic record at 92.97m in the final on Thursday night.

Chopra said now is the time to address the issue for the longer run, and that he will consult doctors to examine it carefully. Surgery would likely be an option.

"I will talk to my team and take a decision accordingly," Chopra said after the final.

"I am pushing myself despite the current situation of my body. The throw is good. But there’s still a lot inside me and I have to keep myself fit for it. I have never felt, sach mein, even though I have not crossed 90m... I thought I’ll do it. I had the belief.

But, I have won a medal for my country. So that’s a big deal too."

This year too, the adductor issue had affected his schedule, forcing him to miss a few meets leading up to the Games. Chopra said the issue has cropped up each time over the last couple of seasons after a fairly optimistic and problem-free start to it. The

Indian had pulled out of the 2022 Commonwealth Games because of it as well.

What the issue does, Chopra reckoned, even while he is fit and competing in meets is that it puts a lot of his focus on watching his body, instead of his technique. And all of that is holding him back from delivering the kind of throws he believes there rests

inside him.

“I already threw 89.94m (personal best in 2022) with this injury. When I throw, I always focus almost 50 percent on my injury. We have to focus mostly on technique, but it's really hard for me with this injury," he said. "Doctors told me to go for surgery last

year. Kheech raha hoon abhi tak (I’m stretching myself till now). There have been treatments since. But we will have to take a big decision.

“Medals are a different thing. But jo ek distance hai mere andar... after the 2018 Asian Games when I threw 88m, I feel there is a better throw left in me. Kaafi kuch hai andaar. Karenge bilkul (There’s a lot left in me, we will do it for sure).”

Chopra was genuinely happy for Nadeem, who has also been through his share of injuries and returned this season after a long injury layoff. Last year, the Pakistani had competed at just the Budapest World Championships while this year he only turned up for

the Paris Diamond League coming into the Olympics.

“Arshad did so well. Bahut maza aaya," Chopra said. “If he can avoid injuries, his throws will only get better. A lot of our sport is about injuries and how one manages that.”

The two-time Worlds medallist won a second Olympic medal, a silver to go with gold, managing that. And in a final of big throws which Chopra thought was the “greatest ever”.