New Delhi, June 21 -- A day after marking his comeback at the Doha Diamond League, double Olympic and World Championships medallist Neeraj Chopra marked an unexpected appearance at the inaugural Athletics Federation of India (AFI) annual awards on Saturday here as the best of Indian athletics gathered to honour its past, present and future. The cynosure of all, Chopra said he was satisfied with his comeback and expressed confidence of hitting top form soon. The 28-year-old ended an eight-month hiatus with a fourth-place finish in Doha, logging a best of 85.69m. The event was won by Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (88.68m) while reigning World Championships silver medallist Anderson Peters (86.38m) and Worlds bronze medallist Curtis Thompson (85.99m) were next. Chopra ticked an important box and achieved the mark of 82.61m set by AFI to qualify for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. Chopra and women's 3,000m steeplechase and 5,000m champion Parul Chaudhary were named Best Athletes of the Year for 2025. The javelin ace said he was still recovering from a back injury and was happy with the way his body responded to the competition pressure in Qatar. "I would not say I am fully fit. The body is not what it was before last year, but I am getting there. All things considered, I am happy with my effort and am looking forward to Commonwealth Games," Chopra said. "I didn't try to put in any extra effort. I didn't want to exert myself. The goal was to get a good throw in, and once I got 85m, I was satisfied." While the past year saw the former world champion break the 90m mark, he was also bogged down with injuries. Already managing a groin niggle, he injured his back. That, however, was not the only injury he was dealing with. "I had an Achilles injury in my blocking (left) leg. I also had an injury in my shoulder and elbow. Then, of course, there was the back issue. I have been having some or the other injury in my groin for a long time. So, at the start of the year, I sat down with my team and we went over my programme calmly. I decided it was important to get a good rehab," he said....