E-Paper
Neeraj Chopra ready for the big season, elusive 90m mark
Neeraj Chopra says technically and fitness-wise he is set for the meets, starting with the Doha Diamond League and including the Budapest world championships
His post-release reaction often indicates the quality of the throw, the distance the javelin can go. For Neeraj Chopra, it’s all about the feel. So, explaining the decision to start this season a month earlier than he did in 2022, Chopra says, “Feel aane laga hai compete karne ka” (I’ve started to get the feel I’m ready to compete).
It’s a feeling the Tokyo Olympics champion didn’t get around this time last year following the extended celebrations for his historic javelin gold in August 2021. It was only in June 2022, at the Paavo Nurmi Games, that Chopra returned to competition. This time, with a solid training base spread across three countries and nearly six months after his Diamond League final title in September, Chopra is ready to kick things off at the Doha Diamond League next month.
“Last year, my training time was less from when I started, so I did not feel the same before Doha (May 5), technically or in terms of fitness and strength. Now, my training has been going well. I feel like I'm ready,” Chopra said from Turkey in a virtual media interaction on Sunday.
“Mentally, if you've been away from competition for so long, it takes time to build that mindset. Right now, it's gradually building inside me that competition paas aa raha hai” (competition is coming close).
Doha will be the first stop in a lengthy season that will get hectic towards the fag end with the World Championships (Budapest-August), Diamond League final (Eugene-September) and the postponed Asian Games (Hangzhou-September-October). Chopra said besides being in much better shape than last year, he has learnt a lesson as well. After his fourth attempt at the 2022 Eugene worlds where he won silver (best throw 88.13m) but felt his groin overstretch, Chopra “josh mein” (in the spirit) carried on. The injury ruled him out of the Commonwealth Games held barely a month later.
“I felt a lot of pain but couldn't stop. Maybe I should've. This year, we have a really long season. The focus is to be injury free, have a healthy season.”
That’s where the 25-year-old, guided by his German coach Klaus Bartonietz and physio Ishaan Marwaha, has confidence in the work put in over the last few months. From checking in at UK’s Loughborough University at the end of last year to moving to Potchefstroom earlier this year to being based this month at the Gloria Sports Arena in Antalya, Turkey, Chopra reckons he has covered the bases to ensure a solid foundation for the season.
While in the UK the focus was on building stamina using the Loughborough University’s powerbase gym and other facilities, in South Africa it was ramping up the throwing strength to go with minor technical tweaks. “We worked on trying to improve my throwing strength and technique and increasing the strength of the throwing muscles.”
All of which has got Chopra brimming with belief, not only backing up his impressively consistent 2022 season where he set a national record of 89.94m in Stockholm, but also being able to get the 90m monkey off his back. It’s a figure that crops up too frequently for Chopra’s liking. Though it “doesn’t irritate” him, he is upbeat about touching that “magical distance” this season and ending that question.
“Last year, I got really close," he said. “I'm not over-confident, but when you're feeling good, you can say it. I've been training well and have the belief it (90m) will happen this time.”
He'll have for company in Doha Anderson Peters (PB: 93.07m), Jakub Vadlejch (90.88), Keshorn Walcott (90.16) and Julius Yego (92.72), forming a highly competitive field. Except for when social media feeds it, Chopra said he doesn’t follow what his competitors do.
But he did follow the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru on Saturday, where DP Manu won with a season-leading throw of 84.33m, ahead of Rohit Yadav's 81.81m. Chopra said such performances, and from young woman long jumper Shaili Singh, CWG triple jump champion Eldhose Paul and the other jumpers is a sign of greater things to come from Indian athletics.
“Overall, the improvement in Indian athletics is showing,” he said. “Woh dekh ke bahut mazaa aa raha hai” (it is very exciting to see this).
