“Of course I feel pressure”: Neeraj Chopra on heading into the 2022 World Athletics Championships
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Neeraj Chopra
The 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon are coming close, and the pressure is on. As some of the biggest names in the world come to track and field for an intense fortnight of competition. Amongst these is reigning Olympic Javelin champion Neeraj Chopra, who will go into the competition with a few good season wins. Chopra is very close to the elusive the elusive 90m mark, after throwing a new national record of 89.94m just a few weeks ago.
However, the pressure is on- and everyone is feeling it. Neeraj talked about his experience about dealing with pressure, and what he does to manage it. “Some of the athletes simply accept that they are under pressure ahead of an event. Others just shut themselves out. I have never said that I don’t feel the pressure when performing on as big a platform as the World Championships,” said Chopra to Times of India.
“The real deal is to stay calm even during a challenging situation”: Neeraj Chopra on pressure ahead of the World Athletics C’ships
“The real deal is to have that clarity of thoughts and stay calm even during a challenging situation. If we start burdening ourselves with the mountain of expectations, it will disturb our rhythm and situational awareness. If you fail to achieve the desired distance in two or three of your javelin throws, your mind and body will become frustrated.” Chopra said that this pressure could lead to a situation where an athlete might lose control over their technique and make mistakes.
Neeraj said he would like to go into the World Championships with a pressure free mind. He said he would still like to remain humble, and not have an invincible aura, instead of caring about ‘him being Olympic champion’. “Javelin is a technical game and you need to keep that command over your technique.” Chopra is determined to give it his 100% as the whole country stands behind him once more.
Also read: “It felt amazing” – Neeraj Chopra makes first top three win at Diamond League
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Saivee Phatak
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