Javelin star armed, dangerous
HAVING written history at junior level, India’s javelin star Neeraj Chopra is eyeing a podium finish as he prepares for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia this week.
Chopra set a new junior world record at the World Under-20 Championships at Bydgoszcz, Poland, in 2016 with a throw of 86.48m.
He followed that up with gold at the senior Asian Championships last year and is one of the contenders for a medal at the Games as well.
The 20-year-old is excited about taking part in the biggest multi-discipline event of his career so far.
“This is my first Commonwealth Games and I am very excited. I participated in the South Asian Games but CWG is much bigger and am determined to give 100%.
“I want to make my debut memorable,” he said.
“I am here to give my best and if I do then, hopefully, I will return will a medal from here. My only target is to give my best.”
“The competition is going to be tough as my opponents will be 2015 world champion Julius Yego and Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott among others and both will be tough nuts to crack.
“World Under-20 bronze medallist Andersen Peters from Grenada is another name that can give me a good fight.”
Chopra has displayed excellent form lately, winning a gold at the Federation Cup Athletics Championships in Patiala last month.
His winning throw of 85.94m is the best ever recorded on Indian soil and the secondbest of his career.
Chopra was among the first batch of Indian athletes to land in Australia for the Commonwealth Games and the star javelin thrower believes the early arrival will help him to acclimatise better and give him more confidence ahead of the event.
“The athletics federation send us early so that we can acclimatise according to the weather conditions and diet here and it will help us in our performance.
“This is my first trip to Australia and ’til now my experience is good here. Hopefully, I will learn something new here,” Chopra said.
“I want to produce a good performance here and improve my personal best,” he added.
However, the past year has not been easy for Chopra.
Like most Indian athletes, he had to face a lot of problems, all thanks to some gross mismanagement by the Athletics Federation of India.
He was forced to train alone for several months since his former coach Garry Calvert went home to Australia midway through his contract in May last year.
“It was hard for me as I had to train alone for a few months. But I managed somehow,” Chopra said.
“But, of course, it is always better with a coach. My performance did get affected to some extent.”
However, since German legend Uwe Hohn took over as coach, the situation is a lot better for Chopra.
“I am happy that I am coaching under Hohn. The journey so far with him is very satisfying and hopefully it will be the same in the future.
“He taught me new techniques and I am working on them,” he said.
Chopra was also upbeat about Indian athletes’ medal chances.
“India have a very good chance to bag medals. Our athletes are fit but let’s see how the tournament goes.”