Star India javelin thrower and World Championships gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be aiming to repeat his Tokyo 2020 heroics to retain his title at the ongoing Paris Olympics on Thursday.
Chopra registered a huge throw of 89.34 metres in Group B of the men’s javelin throw qualification round at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday and made his way into the finals.
The final will be played on Thursday at 11:55 pm IST. He successfully breached the qualification mark of 84.00 m.
However, the competition would be fierce as the final will feature the likes of Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, the 2020 silver medalist, Julian Weber of Germany, the 2022 European Champion and the two-time world champion, Anderson Peters from Grenada.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who is also one of Neeraj’s closest rivals, joined the Indian star for the men’s javelin final with his season-best throw of 86.59 m. Arshad and Neeraj have developed a healthy rivalry over the years, with Neeraj dominating the head-to-head record 9-0. However, Arshad’s best effort of 90.18 m in the 2022 Commonwealth Games is ahead of Neeraj’s top effort.
Chopra’s first attempt during the qualification was his all-time second-best throw at a men’s javelin event, with his top throw coming at Stockholm Diamond League 2022 with a distance of 89.94 m. It was also the 26-year-old’s best throw in any qualification round. Now, the Indian will be aiming to touch the much-talked-about distance of 90.00 m during the final and retain his gold.
After his throw at the qualification, Chopra laid out the differences between playing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and in Paris this year and also said that defending his title serves as a motivation to him.
Speaking on JioCinema, Neeraj said on Tuesday that he threw the javelin in the sunshine at Tokyo, but it is much cooler and less humid at Paris.
“In Tokyo, we threw in the sunshine and here it’s a bit cooler and the humidity is much lesser. Tokyo was much warmer and more humid than Paris. The big difference is that there are crowds here,” said Neeraj.
On the challenge of defending his title, Neeraj stated: “Being defending champion is motivation and I need to be prepared. The mind should be focused on doing the job at hand.”
Talking about his throw during the qualification round, Neeraj said that though his throw was good, the final remains the “real deal”.
“Final will be a cracker, the Tokyo final mark has already been surpassed by qualification. We were a little relaxed today. The burden and pressure will be much more in the final,” he added.
Chopra also discussed his injury concerns and said: “I have had a few issues with my groin & that is why I did not take part in a lot of competitions. It is important to stay fit and reach the final.”
Ahead of the final clash, Neeraj’s mother Saroj said to ANI, “The preparations are going very well. He has worked very hard. We are hoping for gold. We are all happy.”
His father Satish Kumar also said, “We are all very excited. Neeraj will give his best to live up to the expectations. Everyone in the village is happy and waiting for his match…”
Chopra won the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw competition at the Paavo Nurmi Games 2024 athletics meet in Turku, Finland, earlier in June.
The Indian registered a throw of modest 85.97 m, in his third attempt to clinch the top podium. Neeraj Chopra, the reigning world and Olympic champion, was competing in his third event of the year.
On the road to defend his crown at the Paris 2024 Olympics later this year, Neeraj started his season with a second-place finish at the Doha Diamond League on May 10 with an 88.36m throw.
He then logged a modest 82.27 m to bag the gold medal at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar five days later. It was his first competition in India since becoming an Olympic champion.
Neeraj was also scheduled to compete at the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet in Czechia during late May but did not participate as a precautionary measure after a muscle tweak during a training session. (ANI)