‘Haven’t Got To My Peak Yet’, Admits Neeraj Chopra Despite Multiple Achievements

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra feels that he has not achieved his best result in the javelin throw despite winning multiple medals in the sport. Indian star athlete exhibited the basics of throwing a javelin to Dinesh Karthik on JioCinema’s ‘Get Set Gold,’ where he also showed his personable side by discussing some of his off-court interests such as his hobbies, favourite movies, and the kind of music he listens to before competing. Neeraj shared how his throw in the World Under-20 Championships 2016, is the only throw he has been satisfied with. To date, I am only satisfied with one throw of mine, which was 86.48 m in the World Under-20 Championships 2016. That was one throw where I felt it was a special, unique one, but I have not been satisfied with any throw since.

“I feel I haven’t got to my peak yet; I have won gold and won a lot of competitions, but I still believe I have not reached my best and I am not satisfied with my throw yet,” he said.

The 2023 World Champion opened up on his hobbies, including a short-lived habit of shopping that led to a complicated overseas purchase.

“I have many hobbies. I like hanging out with my friends. I also liked shopping a lot, but now I shop less because it feels like a waste of money. We can spend that money elsewhere. I like collecting unique things. I once went past a shop in Germany that had unique art pieces. I liked a statue of a warrior sitting on a horse, throwing a spear, more like throwing a javelin, so I bought it without even thinking. It was of 20kgs. Later, I thought, ‘How will I take it to India?’ Finally, a brother of mine managed it,” said the javelin star.

Neeraj also revealed how he spent his time during the Covid-19 lockdown watching various classic Hollywood movies.

“During the lockdown, I watched movies with the best IMDb ratings. So, there was The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, A Beautiful Mind, and The Pianist. I recently watched a movie, Society of the Snow. I would like to tell everyone to watch it. It makes me feel like our lives are much better,’ he said.

He further shared the kind of music he listens to before competing. “I don’t have a favourite playlist but during events, I mostly listen to loud music, like Imagine Dragons. Once I was competing in the Asian Games and I had listened to Shiv Tandav, it gave me goosebumps. I like (adrenaline-pumping music) because normally, I’m fine, but when I compete, I get very aggressive,” Neeraj added.

The 26-year-old is among the best javelin throw athletes in the world right now, as the incumbent Olympic (Tokyo 2020) and World Champion (Budapest 2023).

He earned the silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. He has also won the Asian Games Gold medal twice (2018 Jakarta, 2022 Hangzhou) and the Gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (Gold Coast).