Photo by Mohamed Farag / The Peninsula
Doha: India's Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is eyeing a strong start to the season as he begins his Diamond League title defence in today’s opening meet at Doha’s Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Not only in India, Neeraj became a global star after he clinched gold in Tokyo two years ago, becoming the first-ever track and field athlete from his country to triumph at the Games.
The 25-year-old’s popularity was evident yesterday when he joined other athletes including Qatar’s reigning Olympic and world champion high jumper Mutaz Barshim at a pre-meeting press conference, receiving a barrage of questions from the media, and later never-ending requests for interviews and pictures.
Chopra, who termed the popularity as the biggest challenge in focusing on his training, said he would aim to clear the 90m barrier in Doha. Last year, he extended his national record to 89.94m and remained consistent in the high 80s.
Today, the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medalist will face a challenge from two-time world champion Anderson Peters and Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch. Peters threw 93.07m to win in Doha last year in a thrilling competition with Vadlejch, who set a PB of 90.88m.
"This is my first competition of the season. It's always good when you have great competitors," Chopra told reporters yesterday.
"Vadlejch has already thrown 88.38m in Potchefstroom (South Africa, on April 18), so I think tomorrow will see great competition. Also, Doha is famous for 90m throws. So we will see, hopefully, tomorrow will have great results for all," added Chopra.
To a query, Chopra expressed his delight over the growing popularity of athletics in India. “After I won the Olympics gold medal, there has been a lot of change in the Indian sporting culture,” said Chopra.
“The young generation is taking up sports. And it's not just the javelin, there is interest in other sports too. And it's bringing confidence in the juniors to perform well. They believe if I can do it, they can do it too.”
“In India, we already have six or seven of them who can throw over 80 meters. And there are two or three more of them who threw over 80m this year. So the interest in javelin has picked up in India. Hopefully, in the next ten years, other javelin throwers from India will join me in Diamond League, World Championship, or Olympics,” he added.
Asked about the biggest challenge he faces in stardom, he replied: “After my Olympic gold many people know me now, so the biggest challenge for me is focus on my training and competitions. That’s really the tough part for me. So for me to manage all this attention and also compete on a bigger stage in the world is difficult.”
