How far will Neeraj Chopra's javelin go this year?

Neeraj Chopra has already won the javelin throw event at the 2023 Lausanne Diamond League and the Doha Diamond League this year. (File photo)

Neeraj Chopra’s focus this year is now firmly on two events. The Olympic champion javelin thrower wants to be at his best for Budapest, which will host the World Athletics Championships from 19 August. Having secured enough points from the Diamond League series, the other event commanding Chopra's attention is the Diamond League Finals in Eugene, USA, on September 16-17. “I don’t feel any pressure for (to qualify) the Diamond League finals because I have enough points I feel,” he said in a news conference this week.

Athletes collect points from various Diamond League meetings that culminate in the final, which includes only the top six from that discipline. Chopra topped in the Doha leg in May and in Lausanne last week, with throws of 88.67m and 87.66m, respectively. The wins have given him enough confidence to possibly skip the next leg in Monaco later this month, so that he can focus on Budapest.

“I need to work on my fitness so that it will last (the rest of the season),” he said. “If I continue to compete now, like in Monaco, which we haven’t decided about yet, my fitness will go down and injuries might recur. My aim is probably to wait till the World Championships, so that my fitness improves. Once my body is fit, I can push myself more.”

A muscle strain, because of which he had to miss three events, had made Chopra a bit tentative coming into the event in Lausanne held on June 29-30. He started with a foul followed by throws of 83.52m and 85.04m. His fifth was the winning effort of 87.66m followed by the last throw of 84.15m.

“If I am honest, the injury was in my mind, a question mark,” he admitted. “I had two training sessions, which were fine. When in competition—and it was cold—I kept thinking if I could push myself. For the first few throws, there was a barrier in my head.”

On coach Klaus Bartonietz’s suggestion, Chopra increased his speed and started his runup from farther back. “Then I felt I could push myself. Around the fifth attempt, I increased speed. I was slow on the runway till then. That improved the throw.”

“The first throw I fouled. I wanted it to be a good throw but was 79-80m. I could not see the line of 80-85m well in my mind. I thought the 85m line was 80m. My 80m throw, I thought, was around 75m. So I fouled,” he explained.

“The attempt is to get a good first throw in, which puts pressure on the others. If that does not work, we have to be ready till the end. The last throw can change the game too.”

Another reason why Chopra wants to focus on fitness is because of the length of the season. The postponed Hangzhou, China, Asian Games will be begin from September 23, just one week after the Diamond League Finals and fairly late into the athletics season. It will be the last marque event before next summer’s Paris Olympics.

In the Asian Games, one of Chopra’s main challengers would be Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, a former bronze medallist whose personal best of 90.18m (set last year) is better than Chopra’s career best of 89.94m, also achieved last year.

“That India-Pakistan angle comes in somehow, isn’t it?” Chopra said, grinning over the Zoom chat. “I don’t think I am competing with Nadeem—I just have to give my best. Hopefully, it will be a good competition. Only if we push ourselves, will it work. I focus on my best, I don’t feel pressure from anyone else.”

The other statistic that he says does not worry him is the elusive 90m mark. Chopra has come close to it, in Stockholm last June, but is yet to crack it. Many of his competitors have crossed the mark, like Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic (personal best of 90.88m), Grenada’s Anderson Peters (93.07m), Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago (90.16m) besides others.

“As long as you are first among the best, it’s all good, whether you do it in 85m or 89m. Everyone is pushing themselves and if you are the best among them, that’s the biggest thing for me. The 90m will come when the time is right. My target is to win. When the conditions are right and so is my fitness, it will happen,” added the 25-year-old.

The upcoming World Championships is important for Chopra, whose best in the event has been a silver medal. “I never think of gold (medal) or getting to 90m. That’s pressure. I just want to give my 100 percent. That’s usually on my mind. I don’t have a World Championships gold but if I am 100 percent mentally and physically fit…”