CHENNAI: Sport is not always about hard work and perseverance. It is also about learning from mistakes, acknowledging shortcomings and striving to do better. There is no better example than Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. In 2021, after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold, he took a break from the sport, a little longer than usual. Having put on some weight, getting back into full fitness took time and was forced to enter competitions late. Later during an interaction with this daily he had said, he would not want to repeat it.
New season, Neeraj started his training early (around December last year). He was watchful with his diet to maintain weight. Hard work during training and proper planning, and now he is ready for his first competition – the Diamond League in Doha on May 5. Last year, he started his competition Paavo Nurmi Games on June 14. He said as much when he took time off his training to interact with the media from Antalya, Turkey, on Sunday. “Last time we started training late and because of that it took a little longer to enter competition but this time we started early and now ready and training, too, has been good,” he said.
However, this year being a cramped season that would last until the Asian Games in September-October with World Championships in August, Neeraj and his team would pick and choose competitions much more carefully. “This year is going to be long and we have to identify which are the main competitions,” he said. “We will sit down with the coach (Klau Bartonietz) and the physio (Ishan Marwah) and list those out. We will focus on the main competitions. World championships will be the primary focus but we will see which Diamond Leagues and Continental Tours we will focus on so that there is enough time to recover and train. Focus is to do better than what we did last and the training too has been keeping that in mind,” he said.
The First competition of the season will have some established names like world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, former Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and Jakub Vadlejch (Olympic silver medallist). All of them have thrown above 90m as personal bests. Neeraj, however, is not perturbed. “It’s good that some big names are entering the competition. It motivates you further to do well and these Diamond Leagues are for points but the final Diamond League will be important where you win the trophy. These DLs are also important because they give you points so the target is to do well and training has been good and I am feeling quite motivated to do well. Technically and mentally I am feeling fine.”
As competition approaches, Neeraj is getting more and more focussed. “When competitions are far off then you don’t think much about competitions but as they come closer you feel it. That’s happening now. We get into competition mode once in the season. Training has been good. This year should be good as well.” He also lauded coach Klaus’s Training methods. “He is very good and I have been training with him for quite some time. He is good at training as well. He keeps that relationship between the player and others and he keeps a healthy atmosphere in the camp. Sometimes If we don’t feel good, he motivates you and he doesn’t put you under any kind of pressure. As far as training goes, we have not changed much in terms of technique. May be modified here and there, but nothing major.”
Neeraj also emphasised the need to have a healthy relationship between a coach and an athlete. “It’s important for the athlete to know what he is doing. An athlete should know his body and what kind of training is good and if it needs to be modified. It should not be that an athlete does what the coach tells him to do. Because it is an individual sport when we are on the ground we have to take care of everything. There the coach cannot help with the technique much. Because the mind is in a different plane altogether. That’s why it is important to know our body and training. Sometimes when the coach makes a plan and I think we can do things differently, then we sit with the coach and talk and I give my opinion and if the coach thinks what I am saying is fine then we modify it. That understanding is very important when we can talk our mind feely with the coach.”
As for the 90-m mark, he said, “like I had spoken earlier, I would want to put this to rest. Last year, I came very close (89.94m) but got injured. There is no pressure on crossing 90m, but yes I would want to do it this year. It is a magical figure and the 90-m club is exclusive. Hopefully, I will do it.” Neeraj was happy to see athletes performing well at the Indian Grand Prix 4 in Bengaluru. He talked about javelin throwers like DP Manu’s 84m-plus throws and Shaili Singh’s long jump effort. He spoke about long jumper Eldhose Paul’s record earlier. “It’s heartening to see Indian athletes doing well,” he said.
“I think Indian athletics is on an upswing and good to see so many players doing well and those who are performing are all young and I am sure that we will be doing well at the world level.”
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