Picture Credit: Twitter
Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra dominated in the Diamond League with a humongous throw, which helped him break his previous record. Chopra registered a throw of 89.94m in his first attempt to set a new national record at the current event in Stockholm, Sweden.
His previous record was 89.30m, which he posted in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku. But this throw only helped him finish second in the competition. "I'm close to 90m," said Chopra, as he finished behind Grenada's reigning world champion Anderson Peters. "I know I can throw it this year. A lot of guys now are capable of throwing over 90m. It'll take 89m plus to win in Eugene."
Chopra also talked about how he is not putting a lot of pressure on himself during the World tournament. "Nothing of that sort should happen because I play with a free mind and perform to my potential," he added. "There's no pressure... I train well and give 100% in competition."
The 24-year-old has also been striving for this breaching the 90m mark as talked about this goal at the Paavo Nurmi Games 2022. He said, “I want to do my best. Overall the competition in the world is improving. But it all depends on the day. How the throwers manage the kind of weather and conditions is important because it has an effect. My aim is also to achieve it (90 metres) at one of the competitions. I will not leave any stone unturned.”
Chopra has been India’s most recent sporting idol and has been inspiring youngsters to pick up the sport and go for glory. While speaking in a recent interview, Chopra talked about how one just needs patience and hard work to excel as a javelin thrower.
He said, “You don’t need to have the fanciest facilities to train in. Wherever you are, whatever facility you have, just keep training and keep at it. “In a sport like javelin, you need to give yourself time to make things happen, so be patient,” he said. “There are no shortcuts to success, as they say. So, keep the grind, keep at it, and put in the hard work.”