JOIN USNeeraj determined to put 90m queries to rest
Nearly seven months of an off-season has given Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra enough time to rest, recover, recharge, and that has helped him gain a renewed sense of confidence.
The Tokyo Games gold medallist who is constantly bombarded with the 'when will you cross the 90m-mark?' question, claimed that the distance is not only within reach but will be breached in all certainty this season.
"I have been asked this since 2018. I came close last year but fell short by six centimeters," said the javelin thrower referring to the 89.94m effort in the Stockholm Diamond League.
"But I have a good feeling now. The 90m in javelin is an elusive club and I will enter it this year," he assured during a virtual press conference on Sunday.
Preparations are in full swing with Neeraj currently in the middle of an intense training schedule at the Gloria Sports Arena in Belek, Turkey. With several major events lined-up in the year, the star athlete will begin his season at the Diamond League in Doha from May 5. He will be joined by world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic.
"Tough competition is good as it keeps me motivated and helps me push my limits. It's exciting to compete with the best of the best. It will be fun. But I'm not the only one, there will be other Indian athletes to watch out for too," Neeraj offered.
When asked if he has kept a check on his closest competitors and their progress, he said: "It takes so much effort and time to understand myself and to keep improving. Where is the time to monitor anybody else's training patterns or what they are doing to get better? I’m only focused on giving my best at every training session each day."
But the star athlete has always been known to use his platform to throw light on his fellow Indian athletes. Neeraj, though 1000s of miles away, had encouraging words for those at the Indian Grand Prix 4 that was held here in Bengaluru on Saturday.
“Look at Manu (DP) and Rohit (Yadav) breaking the 80m mark and Shivpal (Singh) making a strong comeback,” he said about his compatriots who finished on the podium at the men’s javelin event here. “It’s nice to see Tajinderpal (Singh Toor) and Shaili (Singh) do well too. Athletics is growing in India and it’s good to see they are all hungry to perform better,” stressed the 25-year-old.