Credit: Twitter
Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in javelin throw, has asserted that he is close to breaching the magical 90m mark on the eve of World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The 25-year-old talked about how he needs to have a perfect day of competition with favourable conditions to achieve the long-awaited javelin throw.
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In the Diamond League in Stockholm, Sweden, last June, Neeraj Chopra was agonisingly short of the coveted mark, throwing the javelin at a distance of 89.94m to finish in second place behind Anderson Peters of Grenada, achieving a 90.91m distance. Since then, Chopra has competed in limited events in the past year after suffering an injury.
During an exclusive interview with JioCinema, the Indian track and field star talked about his ambition of breaching the 90m barrier before returning to competition following a two-month break. A s per the PTI, he was quoted saying, “Definitely, I'm close. I just need one perfect day with favourable weather conditions and I am confident I'll be able to achieve the throw.”
Neeraj Chopra discussed the pressures of delivering consistent performances, especially in prominent events like the World Championships and the Olympics. He said, “I have somewhat become accustomed to handling pressure. However, when I participate in competitions that occur once every two to four years, there is undoubtedly a sense of responsibility. But, I always give my hundred per cent and perform with complete focus. Initially, there were other factors which used to overwhelm me but gradually I have gotten used to it.”
Upon his return to competitive action in 2023, Neeraj Chopra went on to win the Diamond League in Doha with an 88.67m effort before throwing the javelin at a distance of 87.66m to take home the title at the Diamond League in Lausanne, Switzerland. He detailed his experience in the past few months, saying, "Competing and being consistent at the highest level against the world's best athletes is definitely challenging. At the beginning of the year, I had prepared quite well, but then I got injured which led me to skip a few competitions."
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“After that, I returned and participated in the Lausanne Diamond League, where my performance was good. Since then, everything has gotten better, and I am happy with my performance and training,” opined the Khangra-born athlete.
