‘It is a matter of a couple of metres’: Neeraj Chopra “hopes” to breach the elusive 90m mark soon

‘It is a matter of a couple of metres’: Neeraj Chopra “hopes” to breach the elusive 90m mark soon

Neeraj Chopra burst into celebration after becoming India's first individual gold medallist in athletics at the Olympics.

India’s 121 year-long wait came to an end at the Tokyo Olympics as Neeraj Chopra bagged India’s maiden medal in track and field events. The gold medal not only put India on the global map when it comes to javelin throw but it has also sparked a revolution in the country when it comes to track and field events.

Neeraj Chopra’s feat in Tokyo made him a household name in India. With fame comes the increased expectations of the nation. Being just 23 years old, Neeraj has a long way to go in his sporting career. Having registered his personal best throw of 88.07m, the nation is now looking forward to Neeraj breaching the elusive 90m mark this season.

“Rest toh kaafi ho gaya,” Neeraj Chopra eager to regain rhythm

Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra

While the nation awaits the glorious moment of Neeraj Chopra registering a 90m throw, the ace javelin thrower feels that the day is not very far off. Neeraj shares that he expected to hit the mark last season as he feels his body was in great shape but for some reason he couldn’t. The again, Neeraj doesn’t want it to become an obsession and affect his performance.

“In javelin, the distances always vary from event to event. Yes the expectations have gone up (for breaching the 90m mark), and I believe the day hopefully isn’t too far. Again it all depends on how the body responds on the day of the competition, as I believe in giving my 100 percent in every tournament,” he told TOI.

“I have already thrown 88.07m, so it is a matter of a couple of metres, but the entire process depends on your overall fitness and the conditions where you are throwing. In the last couple of years, I was in great rhythm but somehow fell short of the mark. Hope to get to it soon,” he added.

A big year awaits the Olympic champion, Neeraj Chopra, as he looks to gain momentum ahead of the Paris Olympics. Neeraj will be defending his Asian Games and Commonwealth title the coming year before he takes off chasing the elusive World Championship gold medal. Neeraj feels that its high time he resumes his full-fledged training with no more interruptions.

“Rest toh kaafi ho gaya (It’s been a long break), I can’t allow myself any more distractions. Well there could be exceptions for family gatherings, but the entire focus is on getting back to training full throttle,” he said.

“The training till now has been all about getting the muscles working again, with a bit of running, light weight exercises, and trying to tune the body. While javelin throw is all about technique, strength, speed, flexibility, it involves taking up a scientific approach too, so taking it one step at a time,” he added.

Neeraj Chopra will be eyeing the two medals missing from his cabinet, one at the World Championships and another at the Diamond League. The World Championship will take place in the United States next year and he has quite some time at hand to give it his best at the big stage.

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