Half-fit Chopra feels Paris silver was as good as Tokyo gold

Bengaluru: Exactly 10 days ago, Neeraj Chopra won his second Olympic medal at the Stade de France in Paris.

As India continues to celebrate the javelin thrower’s splendid effort for a silver this time, to pair with his gold from Tokyo, Neeraj has long moved on. The 26-year-old was back to training four days after finishing second on the podium by hurling the spear to a distance of 89.45 meters. 

However, an unfamiliar disappointment was evident on Neeraj’s face. After all, ending his campaign without winning the gold or crossing the 90m mark on the biggest stage wasn’t the kind of result an athlete chasing excellence would be happy to settle for. 

“Mentally I was ready, but physically I couldn’t give a 100 percent because of the groin niggle,” said Neeraj during an online interaction from his training base in Switzerland on Saturday.

“Because of the injury that I have been managing for quite some time now, it didn’t allow me to go all out. See, when the cross step happens during the run-up is when the groin takes a lot of load. With the leg work not up to the mark, the technique took a beating. Though the arm speed was good, the line of throw was getting disturbed. It was curving inwards rather than going straight which would have given me another 2-3 meters.”

Neeraj has been contemplating a surgery for a while now but has opted to wait it out till the end of the 2024 season. With big ticket events lined-up one after the other, the athlete says that going under the knife would have put doubts over his participation at the Paris Games. 

“Even if there was discomfort, it didn’t completely hamper my training schedule in the months leading to the Olympics. The only drawback was compromising on the throwing sessions to safeguard the groin. But during the final, not once did I feel I couldn’t win gold even after Nadeem came up with that big throw (92.97m) to set a new Olympic record. 

“We have about one more month left for this season to end. As of now, I will be taking part in the Lausanne Diamond League (slated next week on August 22). The original plan was to also compete at Zurich (September 5) and the Brussels (Sept 13-14) DL’s, but we will take a call on them after how it goes next week. I will also meet the doctors once these events are done.” 

Neeraj credited coach Klaus Bartonietz of Germany and his personal physio Ishaan Marwaha for helping him perform while managing the injury. In that sense, the silver is as cherished as the gold in Tokyo, he offered. 

“It’s difficult to rate which one is better than the other. I mean, we also have to look at the circumstances through which I won. But, yes, the main difference is that had I won a gold, the national anthem would have played in the stadium. That was missing this time,” stated the world champion. 

With two Olympic medals in his bag along with several other titles, Neeraj is far from done. While he stressed on improving the mind, body and skillset, the golden boy of Indian athletics has plans to set up javelin academies in the country to help nurture future champions. But that will be only after his career comes to an end, he emphasised.

For now, is the target still 90m or have the stakes gone beyond? 

“I don’t know, it’s left to god. Really. I only want to work hard, focus more on strengthening my weaknesses and improve.”