Commonwealth Games: Tajinderpal Singh Toor to miss out due to groin injury

Top Indian shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor was on Saturday ruled out of the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham due to the groin injury he sustained ahead of the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Eugene, USA.

Asian record holder Toor did not turn up for his event this morning in Eugene due to the groin injury he sustained four days ago at Chula Vista in the USA where the Indian team for the World Championships had a brief training stint ahead of the showpiece. He tried a couple of practice throws before the event but decided to skip it as the pain did not subside due to strain on his adductor muscles which join the thigh to the hip.

"No, I will not be able to take part in the Commonwealth Games because of this groin injury. It's a hard time for me," Toor told PTI from Eugene. "I had pulled my groin muscle four days ago while at Chula Vista and it greatly affected my performance. I will do rehab, work hard and come back stronger in future competitions," said the 27-year-old from Punjab who holds the Asian record of 21.49m.

Toor was named in the original 36-member Indian athletics team for July 28 to August 8 Commonwealth Games subject to his performance in an event in Kazakhstan. He had missed the CWG qualifying standard of 20.50m set by the Athletics Federation of India as he could only throw 20.34m while winning gold in the National Inter-State Championships in Chennai last month. He had a throw of 19.96m in an event in Chula Vista on July 9.

Toor, however, had to return to India from Kazakhstan without taking part in the Qosanov Memorial Athletics Meet as he had to complete US visa formalities for the World Championships. Toor said he feared the injury could aggravate and so decided to pull out of the World Championships at the last minute.

"I had this groin injury four days back after reaching Chula Vista (USA). I had tapping on my thigh and did a couple of warm-up throws to see if the pain is still there. I still felt the pain while throwing, so I decided to pull out of the event," Toor, who has 'No Mark (NM)' against his name, said. "If I take part in the event, my injury may aggravate and become a third-grade injury and I may have to be out of action for 7-8 months," said the reigning Asian Games gold medallist.

Toor has been ravaged by injuries in recent times. He competed in the Tokyo Olympics last year with a wrist injury in his throwing arm which needed surgery. He went under the knife in September last year and joined the national camp two months later. "I could not perform as intended. Injuries have been continuously happening to me. Last year, it was my wrist and now it's the thigh," he rued.