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Late events lift javelin ace Neeraj Chopra’s hopes for Tokyo Olympics
Competitions in Europe after injury and pandemic forced a two-year wait keep India’s medal hopeful optimistic as he heads to Japan
Competing against the world’s top javelin throwers at the Kuortane Grand Prix in Finland on June 26, Neeraj Chopra felt that everything was new. The 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games champion was participating in an international meet after more than two years, and the line-up included 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter and Rio Olympics silver medallist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago.
Chopra took third place with a throw of 86.79m. Vetter, who has consistently crossed 90m this season, won with a throw of 93.59m and Walcott was second with his season’s best 89.12m.
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It was Chopra’s third international competition in a month, having warmed up with two smaller meets. His preparations for Tokyo had been repeatedly hit as he was unable to go abroad due to travel restrictions caused by the second wave of the pandemic. The bunching up of meets also wasn’t ideal, and he had to drop out of one to focus on build-up at training.
“Earlier, when I used to compete it used to be a normal feeling. This time because I was competing internationally after such a long gap, it was a completely new feeling,” Chopra said during a virtual media interaction on Sunday from his training base in Uppsala, Sweden.
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“I felt as if it was my first international competition. The throw was good (86.79) but I felt I could have done better. The feeling you get on the runway or the way you are thinking during your throws, these things were new to me. There are so many things that go in the mind. Travel is also involved. All these things become normal only when you are regularly competing,” he said.
His time away from international competition was also stretched because for the entire 2019 he was recovering from elbow injury. He returned in 2020 and made the cut for the Olympics in a meet in South Africa only for the pandemic to halt further competitions. So, it was just one competition from 2019 until his current trip.
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At Finland, Chopra was without his own javelins. “It was held up in Stockholm so I had to borrow and throw. Throwing with your own javelin is a different feeling. The throw was also not good technically. It gained more height. I am working on this part.”
Chopra’s best this season is 88.07m at the Indian Grand Prix on March 5, a national record.
“People must be feeling that I was behind my personal best in the meets here. In the Indian GP I had performed better. At that time I was getting ready for competitions in Europe. I was peaking towards it. We plan our training with competitions in mind, only then high-level performance comes,” said Chopra.
“Because of restrictions I could not travel. If things don’t happen in time, it affects planning. We had to keep changing our plan and targets.”
“But I am happy I was able to come here and get some competitions before the Tokyo Olympics. It was very important.”
Tokyo Olympics next
Chopra will not take part in any more events until the Olympics. He will skip the Gateshead Diamond League leg on June 13.
“It is difficult to get a UK visa at this time. The travel rules are difficult for Indians. So, I would rather focus my energy on training. If I have to qualify for the Diamond League Final, I can do that after the Olympics. The competitions I have got so far, especially in Finland, were good under the circumstances. I am in a positive frame of mind. A lot depends on the performance of the day and I am just hoping to give my best in Tokyo.”
