Medal hope Neeraj thirsts for competition

The biggest worry for elite Indian athletes based in the country currently is lack of proper competition. With coronavirus ravaging the nation in a brutal second wave and countries increasingly shutting their borders, most of them stare at the possibility of flying out to the Tokyo Olympics without much, in fact any, competitive action unless things get better.

Barring the shooting contingent and a handful of other athletes, a vast majority of them are training at their respective centres in the country. Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, a medal prospect who is currently slogging it out at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, literally begged for competition saying the lack of it could prove detrimental to his chances at Tokyo.

“It’s very difficult for all athletes at the moment,” said Neeraj in a virtual interaction arranged by SAI and TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) on Wednesday. “While training is important for athletes, competition is even more important and most of us are not getting it. I have already qualified for the Olympics, so there is less tension. But all good athletes, no matter how much they train, will want good competition before Olympics and that is not happening now. It’s a big problem.”

Neeraj felt he’ll be under immense pressure at the Olympics (July 23-August 8) because he hasn’t had a taste of competition for two years now. “I’m giving it all in training but I really need competition now. I’ve requested SAI and TOPS and they also are trying but it’s very difficult at the moment. It’s been two years since I’ve taken part in an international competition. Because of injury I couldn’t compete in 2019 and Covid has wrecked 2020 and 2021 completely. Two years have gone for a waste. I don’t have an experience of competing in the Olympics and I can’t afford to go for such a massive event without any competition for two years. Mine is a physical sport and sports is all about confidence. Confidence comes through competition and winning. So if there’s no competition, then it’s very difficult to judge where you stand.”

Another worry for Neeraj is the brutal summer weather in Patiala. Maximum daytime temperatures touch mid-40s, making it almost impossible for proper training. While the 23-year-old national record holder (88.07 metres) and reigning Asian Games and Commonwealth Games felt nothing can be done now, he requested the Sports Ministry to set up an indoor track as soon as possible.

“It’s very hot here and difficult to train. Sometimes we can’t even be out for five minutes, it’s that hot. But we have no choice but to train. Lot of athletes train in Patiala so I feel we should have an indoor track. Even some small countries have them. Considering the national camps happen here and we train for Asian Games and Olympics here, time we had an indoor track. The reason why I’m requesting for an indoor track is because no matter what the weather is outside, the training won’t get impacted. It’s very hot now itself and it’ll get worse in June.”

Neeraj, who has been excelling at the global level right from his youth days, reckoned the competition will be very strong at Tokyo Games. “At the 2012 London Olympics, the gold-medal winning throw was 84 metres (84.58 actually). At the Rio Olympics it was 90 (90.30) but 85 (85.38) secured bronze. The current group is very strong. Earlier there would be 2-3 top javelin throwers but now you have 7-8 top throwers. So the competition is very intense. Most of them consistently throw above 87. So it’s hard to predict what the winning throw will be.”