India’s Neeraj Chopra in action during the men’s javelin throw. (Reuters)
Less than a month since he flashed his silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Neeraj Chopra finished second at the Diamond League javelin throw meet with a season best effort.
Speaking after the competition on Thursday, Chopra added up on the experience of getting back to competitive action soon after the Summer Games.
“Luckily after Paris, it was not too much. So, I did some treatment with my physio. He did really well and I feel good. I did some very easy throwing sessions after Paris. And it was a strange competition today. In the beginning I did not feel that I could throw that far but in the end, it was really good,” Chopra said.
The 26-year-old threw 89.49m – marginally better than his Paris Olympics best (89.45m) in his final attempt on Thursday, which was second only to Grenada’s Anderson Peters (90.61m).
But at one stage, Neeraj was at the fourth spot. This is where the Indian concedes that his opponent Kenya’s Julius Yego’s advice assisted him.
“(Anderson) Peters threw 90m, my body didn’t feel good but the fighting spirit was nice today. I really liked my comeback. In the last throw I didn’t think too much, just gave my best,” Chopra told the host broadcaster afterwards.
“In the first throw, I thought I will do this, I will do that but in the last throw, I did not, also Julius Yego said ‘relax, you will throw far’. I tried to relax,” he said.
The Kenyan Yego finished sixth with an effort of 83m.
What’s next for Neeraj?
Following the Paris Olympics, Chopra had hinted of undergoing a long due surgery to deal with a recurring adductor muscle issue. Even though he didn’t return back to India after the Games and travelled straight to Switzerland, Chopra was asked how much more would he compete in the ongoing season.
“May be two or one competition and then finish the season. I am not sure, may be Brussels (Diamond League finale),” he said. With seven points from Thursday’s second-place finish, Chopra is joint third alongside Weber in Diamond League standings with 15 points. Peters jumped to top spot with 21 points. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who finished seventh (82.03m) on Thursday, is in second spot with 16 points. The javelin throw season’s Diamond League finals will be held in Brussels, Belgium on September 14.
Chopra added that getting back to full fitness is his number one priority for the coming year.
“First goal, go to the doctor and make my groin 100 per cent fit and also I will be technically better and try to throw far again,” he said.
