If the first throw goes well, then it releases the pressure. That happened. The second throw was also very good. I knew at the point of release both will go far. That must have put pressure on the other athletes.

My second throw was also stable and then I felt like I can go for the Olympics record maybe. It is 90.57 (metres) and my personal best is 88.07, I thought if I can do my personal best with a record... I tried, added more power and speed but it didn’t happen as javelin is a very technical sport.

My main focus this year was Olympics. If visa and training work out, I’ll play the Diamond League. The most important thing this year was to play in international competitions and I was able to go abroad and play. I was used to playing against these players so it didn’t feel very different at the Olympics. So there was no pressure that I am against a different field, I knew I have played against them and I was able to focus better. That’s what helped me.

There were lots of ups and down after injuries... the time during the injury (in 2019) was not great and I was able to come back after a successful surgery. It took me a while to come back, lost 2019 and missed the World Championships. The full focus was on the Olympics but the pandemic came about.

India have a gold in shooting and hockey before that. But in athletics… so many great athletes like Milkha Singh, PT Usha missed out on medals by a whisker (finished fourth). So it was important that we got over the line. So I hope this gold will lead to something special in athletics. Now that I have done it I feel like we can do even better... India has a lot of talent.

I started with Jaiveer (coach in Panipat). He supported me a lot when I knew nothing about javelin. He is coaching in the national camp now. He is very dedicated. Training with Jaiveer helped me improve my basics.

In athletics, you develop slowly. Javelin is a very technical sport. I rectified my faults over time. Then I trained under foreign coaches who further rectified my errors. My coaches have helped me a lot. All that support has brought me here.

— Excerpted from Neeraj Chopra’s media interaction after winning gold