Neeraj Chopra credits Jena for Asiad gold, sets eyes on Paris

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old’s massive first throw went unrecorded by the officials and he was asked to re-take his throw. But he re-grouped just in time to produce his season’s best effort of 88.88m to retain the gold he had won in the 2018 edition of the Games in Jakarta.

“Arre, yeh kaise ho gaya (Oh, how did this happen)?!” wondered a perplexed Neeraj Chopra when the lights in his hotel room went off leaving him in the dark in the middle of a virtual media interaction. 

“Sorry, ek second,” he said and opened the curtains to let natural light in. “Ha. Ab teek ho gaya (is it fine now)?”

This tiny glitch in the proceedings, however, did not involve an Asian Games medal. Strange things have happened to the reigning Olympic and world champion over the last few days in Hangzhou. But what remained constant in both the situations, no matter the magnitude of it, was his reaction - Oh, what happened? Picked himself up. Dusted it off. Carried on. Made it right. 

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old’s massive first throw went unrecorded by the officials and he was asked to re-take his throw. Understandably, Chopra struggled to get back into rhythm. But he re-grouped just in time to produce his season’s best effort of 88.88m to retain the gold he had won in the 2018 edition of the Games in Jakarta. 

“Technically the first throw was also good. Then it became a bit hard to focus because of everything that happened. A 15-20 minute break meant the body also cooled down a bit. It took some time to come back into the zone again,” explained Chopra.

“But thanks to Kishore (Jena). He pushed me. His big throw motivated me to pick myself up and give it my all in the fourth.” 

Jena’s personal best of 87.54m ensured that the Indians finished top two on the podium. 

Rarely do we come across healthy competition and brotherhood among two Indian competitors in the same event in a sport like athletics. There was plenty of it to witness this time when track and field events got underway. 

In another controversy, Jena’s clear throw was called foul by the officials. Chopra stepped up once again, this time for his compatriot. Following a review, the original decision was overturned.

“I was sad and angry about what happened to both of us during the competition.  Though it's an individual sport, both of us were there representing India. The Europeans have dominated the sport for so long. Now with Jena, Manu (DP) and Rohit (Yadav), I've company in events and on the podium. It feels good.

“Me and Jena have already qualified for the Paris Olympics. I’m sure there'll be one more javelin thrower who will make the cut too. We did a 1-2 here. My dream is to see three Indian javelin throwers on the podium of a big event,” said Chopra.  

With curtains down to what has been a long season that has given him important medals and more glory, Chopra is set to take a few days off. But three days after adding another gold to his collection, Chopra has already set his eyes on the next big gold. 

“The off season will be short this time. We've to start early because Paris is coming up next year and I've to work harder to be ready to hopefully defend my title there.”