After personal best on return to action, Neeraj Chopra feels 90m javelin throw just round the corner

Returning to competition after a 10-month break, the Olympic gold medallist showed no signs of rust as he took home silver with a national record throw of 89.30cm at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland, in a quality field that included four of the year’s five best throwers, including Grenada’s Anderson Peters, Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic, Germany’s Julian Weber and Trinidad’s Keshorn Walcott.

“Since 2018, I have been sensing that I can hit the 90m mark and always felt that throw would come soon. It’s just a matter of time but I can’t say exactly when. One throw with a good angle and in the right direction and ho jayega kaam (the 90m mark will be achieved),” Chopra said.

Chopra is no stranger to rubbing shoulders with the best in the business but expectations from him will now be sky high. Barring the Tokyo Olympics, never has there been so much hype in India for a javelin competition, with social media ablaze in anticipation days ahead of the event.

But the 24-year-old has never paid much attention to the buzz around him. He almost brushed off any talk of pressure that may come with the stature of an Olympic champion. “In my mind, coming to the event there was no pressure of being an Olympic champion. I approached the competition the same way I used to earlier. I gave it my best. During the competition, you have to just focus on your throw. Each competition is different. It was a really good competition with a world-class field,” he said.

Distractions

Post Olympics, Chopra travelled across the country to attend felicitation functions, receive awards, and complete his commercial obligations. With so much on his plate away from the field, he decided to end his season and take a much-needed break until he resumed training in the US in November. The 2018 Asian and Commonwealth Games champion knew he wouldn’t be allowed to train in peace in India.

Neeraj Chopra will be confident heading into a jam-packed competition schedule. (File)

“I am getting too many wedding invitations in Patiala,” he had joked when explaining why he planned to train overseas. But now he is back where he belongs and the first competition this season has definitely eased his nerves.

“It feels really good that I have opened my season with a good throw and that gives me a lot of confidence for the upcoming events. The plan is simple: I will just focus on my technique and aim to throw better. I am pleased I could achieve a personal best and rewrite my national record. It is always a great feeling when you outdo your previous best mark,” he says.

Neeraj Chopra won the gold for India at the Tokyo Olympics. (File)

With the waters tested, Chopra will be confident heading into a jam-packed competition schedule that will see him participate at the Kuortane Games on June 18, followed by the Diamond League in Stockholm on June 30. Less than a month after the Stockholm event, he will be in Oregon for the World Championship. Bronze medallist Anju Bobby Geroge is the only Indian to win an athletics medal at the Worlds so far.

“It felt really good to return to the field after a long while after the Olympics. I tried to keep my mind clear and just focus on the things that we worked on in my technique during training. That was all that was running in my head. My throw was okay… it wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was okay. The javelin drifted a little more towards the inside but it was a decent result with the effort I put in.”