Saachi Baat Special
Neeraj Chopra, the rock star of Indian athletics, came into his own at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne on Thursday night. Nursing a groin injury for several months, as per his own admission, the Paris 2024 Olympics silver medallist flung the javelin 89.49 metres to win silver with his sixth attempt.
After the highs of the Paris Olympics, where Neeraj won silver, there were doubts persisting if the 26-year-old would be in good shape to compete in the important Lausanne meet. He is the brand ambassador for Switzerland and he needed to showcase himself well. The initial throws seemed to suggest Neeraj was not in top form, registering only around 80 to 83 metres. But then, he was not going to give up.
Compared to Paris, Neeraj looked more comfortable with his run-up, accelerate and release. He had, at that time, done 89.45 metres. So, the big deal was if he could go past the mark as he has talked of 90-metres not being beyond his reach. Sure enough, on Thursday night, in a hard field, Neeraj did his best for 89.49 metres. That he could do this in his last attempt was defining in many ways.
Neeraj was in the fourth spot till the fourth attempt before he managed 85.58m in his fifth attempt. Deep down, Neeraj knew that was not enough How he managed that last fling was defining, that’s Neeraj Chopra, someone who has managed himself so well. When people talked of him being the durable athlete in Indian athletics, it was not wrong. To not go overboard on a medal hype after Paris and focus on training, Neeraj has shown a champion mentality.
“The feeling wasn’t great at first, but I´m happy with my throw, especially the second (career) best throw on my last attempt. It was a tough start, but the comeback was really nice and I enjoyed the fighting spirit I showed,” said Neeraj Chopra said after the event. “Even though my early throws were around 80-83m, I pushed hard in the last two attempts finishing strong. Competing at this high level, it’s important to stay mentally tough and fight through.”
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