‘If I throw what I am capable of, then I am satisfied,’ says Neeraj Chopra

World and Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will focus on his training in the final phase of his preparations for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, starting from July 26.

The athletics competitions will begin from August 1 and men’s javelin qualification and finals are scheduled for August 6 and 8 respectively.

After securing the gold medal in the National Federation athletics meet at the Kalinga Stadium here on Wednesday, Chopra said, “I will try to prepare better for Paris than what I did before Tokyo. I have got some time for that. I will compete and then I will try to focus on my training about a month before the Olympics so that I will be at 100 per cent in terms of fitness and mindset.

“After this, there is Golden Spike Ostrava on May 28. It will be a good competition, Jakub (Vadlejch) and (Anderson) Peters will be there,” said Chopra.

Chopra is scheduled to compete in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on June 18 and the Paris Diamond League on July 7.

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The defending champion expects a strong challenge in the Olympics. “Paris Olympics is going to be tough. This time everybody is well prepared. The competition was good in Doha (Diamond League). Before the Olympics, there are two to three competitions. I will try to throw better in those,” he said.

“After the competition here, we were talking about doing well collectively (as Indians) like we — I, (Kishore) Jena and (D.P.) Manu — did in the World championships (last year). In the Olympics, we will try to do as best as we can perform,” he added.

Speaking about his mindset, Chopra said an athlete should try and give his best without getting affected by fellow competitors’ performance.

“We should try to do what we are doing during our training. In athletics, we compete with others, but firstly we compete with ourselves. There was a time when (Thomas) Rohler or (Johannes) Vetter used to throw 90m in their first throws and at that time I used to do 86m and 87m. That did not mean that I came under pressure thinking I would not win a medal. I used to think that I have to do what I am capable of,” Chopra said.

“I continue with that mindset. When others throw big, I try to push myself. If I do what I am capable of throwing, then I become satisfied,” concluded Chopra.