Guwahati: For any professional athlete, acclimatisation to conditions and maintaining high fitness levels is paramount. This is more important when one is the country’s only active Olympic gold medalist and carries expectations of a billion each time, he takes the field.
Yes, you guessed that right. We are talking about the poster boy of Indian athletics, and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. And let’s not forget every move of his is closely followed.
“Kya mein mota lag raha hu (Am I looking bulky?)”, came his reply to a query on the slow run up at the Diamond League leg in Lausanne, where he sent the spear to a good 87.66m to top the list on June 30.
This was his second consecutive Diamond League title after the season-opener in Doha, and the effort understandably wasn’t anywhere near his Personal Best (89.94m) as he was returning to action after recuperating from an injury.
Having said that, the Panipat lad has got another one and a half month to work on his fitness and return to his best shape ahead of the World Athletics Championship, slated to be held in Budapest from August 19-27.
Neeraj, who clinched a silver at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, USA, is in no mood to settle for second place once again and has shifted his focus fully to the global event in the Hungarian capital city.
“The World Championships gold medal is still missing from my cabinet. I have a medal in the World Championships but it is not gold. All my focus is now targeted at getting fit for Budapest. If I can do that I can prepare myself for the Asian Games as well,” Chopra said during an exclusive interaction with select media on Monday.
Replying to question from EastMojo, Neeraj acknowledged that it isn’t easy to maintain the level of fitness, while adding that he will look to save himself from injury this season as three major competitions — World Championships in August, Diamond League Finals (September 16-17) and Asian Games (September 23-October 8) — are lined up in two different continents – Europe & Asia.
Considered as the top-tier World Athletics tournaments, the Diamond League meets feature some of the elite athletes from across the world every year. Points are awarded to athletes based on their performances in each Diamond League leg and the top six athletes in each event qualify for the final. The winner of the final in each event gets awarded with a Diamond League trophy.
Chopra has already accumulated 16 points from his two top finishes (Doha and Lausanne), and should easily sail through to the finals in Eugene. There are still two Diamond League events which have javelin throw on the roster before the grand finale — in Monaco (July 21) and in Zurich (August 31).
“I have already managed to secure 16 points in the Diamond League where only the best six will compete. So there is no pressure regarding my place in the finals. I believe that 16 points should be enough for me to qualify for the final. I need to work on my fitness level before the World Championships,” the 25-year-old said.
“I haven’t yet decided on my participation in Monaco as we still have another three weeks, but it all depends on my fitness. If I keep participating in all tournaments, it will hamper my chances at the Worlds, and the major competitions,” said the reigning Diamond League champion.
Chopra vs Nadeem rivalry at Asian Games
Chopra played down the upcoming riveting contest against Pakistan’s star javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem in Hangzhou. Nadeem, who managed to breach the elusive ‘90m mark’ en-route the gold medal-win at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year, has been nursing an injury and missed the contests this season.
“The India vs Pakistan angle always comes in when we are talking about Arshad Nadeem. For me, he is just like any other consistent athlete around the world. When I am on the field, I am not thinking that I am up against Arshad Nadeem. I believe Arshad suffered some injury earlier this season but I will be looking forward to resuming our rivalry if he turns up at the Asian Games,” Chopra said.
Despite the delayed end to the season as the Hangzhou Asian Games was postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 outbreak in China, Chopra believes he will have enough time to prepare to defend his Olympic gold in Paris 2024.
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“This season is definitely going to end late for me but I still have enough time to prepare for the Paris Olympics. Although after the Asian Games, I won’t be able to enjoy a couple of months break and have to return to training immediately. I need to forget about vacation this time around,” he said.
“I think I took too much of a break after the Tokyo Olympics. I get unfit if I take a break from training for more than 2-3 days. I tend to eat too much and gain weight. Heading into the Lausanne event, I think I was heavier by 1-2kgs since my focus was on recovering from injury and rehab. I couldn’t train with the same intensity but we still have plenty of time before the World Championships,” he added.
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