Olympic-bound star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's training-cum-competition stint in Europe, which will mark his return to international competition after more than a year, has been delayed "by a few days" as he awaits an authorisation letter from France.

The 23-year-old Indian, who hasn't participated in any event since qualifying for the Olympics in March last year, was originally set to leave for France on Monday to prepare himself for the upcoming Tokyo Games. "...Neeraj Chopra's travel plan to France has been delayed by few days as India is currently placed as a high-risk country with Covid-19 infection and thus a person travelling to France requires an internal authorisation letter issued by French Interior Ministry to travel," the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said in a statement.