While his throw of 87.58m was enough to fetch India’s first ever gold medal in track and field at an Olympic Games, Chopra acknowledged that breaching the 90m mark will be another milestone but doesn’t want to get distracted by turning it into an obsession.
The Panipat lad, who has a career best throw of 88.07m, wants to keep things simple as he knows that it eventually boils down to how one throws on the given day of any competition.
“In javelin, the distances always vary from event to event. Yes the expectations have gone up (for breaching the 90m mark), and I believe the day hopefully isn’t too far. Again it all depends on how the body responds on the day of the competition, as I believe in giving my 100 percent in every tournament,” he said while responding to a question from TOI.
“I have already thrown 88.07m, so it is a matter of a couple of metres, but the entire process depends on your overall fitness and the conditions where you are throwing. In the last couple of years, I was in great rhythm but somehow fell short of the mark. Hope to get to it soon,” he added.
It’s already been four weeks since Neeraj has returned to training at the NIS, Patiala, after a two-month break. Even as the post-Olympic stardom for the 23-year-old refuses to fade in, Neeraj now feels it is high time to get back to rigorous training mode without any more distractions.
” Rest toh kaafi ho gaya (It’s been a long break), I can’t allow myself any more distractions. Well there could be exceptions for family gatherings, but the entire focus is on getting back to training full throttle,” he said, while adding that he will stick to his mentor and biomechanics expert Dr Klaus Bartonietz for the 2024 Paris Games.
“The training till now has been all about getting the muscles working again, with a bit of running, light weight exercises, and trying to tune the body. While javelin throw is all about technique, strength, speed, flexibility, it involves taking up a scientific approach too, so taking it one step at a time,” he added.
Coach to take call on overseas training
Once Neeraj reboots himself at the camp that concludes on December 31, Bartonietz is expected to sit with officials of the Athletics Federation of India, Sports Authority of India, to work on a calibrated training calendar ahead of the packed season, next year.
Eyeing a podium at the World Championships in the US next year, Neeraj left it to his coach to decide on the training schedule.
“There’s no pressure (on winning a World Championship medal) as such, it’s anyway going to be a packed season, with the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Diamond Leagues taking place.”
“The AFI, SAI and coach will take a call on competitions and overseas training. It all depends on the weather conditions, if it’s winter in Europe, we will look for options like South Africa and other warmer places,” he quipped.
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