Main goal for the season is the Worlds: Neeraj Chopra

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

Mumbai: For an athlete who has won every major accolade on offer in his sport, Neeraj Chopra continues to look for new peaks to conquer. On Tuesday, the 27-year-old javelin star is set to make his debut at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet. This will be Neeraj Chopra's fifth competition of the season, but he asserted that they are all stepping stones towards the World Championships in September. (REUTERS)
He has long been waiting to compete in the eastern Czech city, but missed out in the last two seasons due to injury.
'When I was kid, I watched a lot of videos and photos of athletes (like) Usain Bolt competing here,' he said to the media in Ostrava ahead of the meet. 'I came last year but I didn't compete because of injury. Now I feel good, but I don't want to put any pressure on myself for 90m. But I'll try really hard.'
Unable to compete at the last two editions, he has travelled to Ostrava fit and in good form.
Just last week, he won the Paris Diamond League meet with a throw of 88.16m - his first Diamond League win since he clinched top spot at the Lausanne meet in 2023. But he also comes to Czechia having achieved that one missing achievement of crossing 90m.
The 27-year-old has won gold medals at the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. But in May, he managed to join the illustrious 90m club when he threw his spear 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League meet.
Central to the latest achievements is his new coach Jan Zelezny, who started working with Chopra in November. Zelezny, a three-time Olympic gold medallist is the current world record holder, having flung his javelin 98.48m at a meet in Jena, Germany in 1996.
'I'm really happy to work with such a great athlete and coach,' Chopra said. 'I've already thrown 90m this year after a little bit more improvement in technique, so let's see when it comes next time but I'm ready. Recently we've done a good training in Nymbuk (Czechia) so I'll do my best here in Ostrava.'
This will be Chopra's fifth competition of the season, but he asserted that they are all stepping stones towards the World Championships in September, where the Indian is the defending champion.
The Worlds will take place at the National Stadium in Tokyo, a venue Chopra has fond memories of. It was there, in 2021, that he became the second Indian, and the first from the country in athletics, to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. The man from Khandra, Haryana had become a household name after the achievement and continues to attract a large following wherever he went.
'After the Tokyo Olympics, a lot of people recognise me and sometimes it's tough. I don't know if it's a good habit or not, I can't say 'no' to anybody,' he said. 'Back then when I was 'nobody', I had a dream that people would know something about our sport. So now it would not be good if I would say no to people. And I'm happy that now in India people recognise other sports than cricket.'
As he looks ahead to his return to Tokyo, he will take a detour in Bengaluru where a World Athletics gold-category javelin event will be held on July 5 - the Neeraj Chopra Classic.
'This will be my first really serious competition in India with international athletes,' he added. 'I still have to manage a lot of things before competition but it will be a good experience. After Bengaluru, I'll talk to my coach and set up the plans for the upcoming events till Tokyo.
'But the main goal for the season is obviously the World Championships.'