Winning Olympic gold is more precious than breaking 90m barrier, says Neeraj Chopra

Bhubaneswar: Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra said he was focused to excel at the Paris Olympic Games starting July 26 in France.

Competing in his first domestic competition after winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games held in 2021 in Japan, star javelin thrower comfortably won gold medal with a throw of 82.27m

“Winning Olympic Games gold is more glorious than breaking the 90m barrier,” the champion javelin thrower said here on Wednesday. “I will certainly break that barrier (90m) but right now I’m mentally; physically and emotionally focused to make a big impression at the Paris Games.”

“I was expecting good competition from Manu DP. But as the competition progressed Manu DP wasn’t able to get a good rhythm to cross 85m,” the 26 years old world champion explained.

Manu DP of Karnataka was second. Uttam Patil from Maharashtra was third with a throw of 78.39m.

Asian Games medalist and local hero, Kishore Kumar Jena finished fifth with a throw of 75.49m.

Shivpal Singh, another prominent throw was eliminated in the preliminary round. Only the top eight advanced to the medal round.

Neeraj Chopra opened his 2024 season with second place finish (88.36m) at the Doha Diamond League.

After domestic competition here in Bhubaneswar, he will compete in Europe to prepare for the Paris Olympic Games.

In preparation for the Olympic Games, he has chalked his plans. He will compete on May 28 in Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Turku (Finland) in June. Thereafter, he will assess his fitness. “I will see how my body and mind reacts to high quality competitions and then take a call, “ he disclosed.

Neeraj Chopra’s personal best and national record of 89.94m was recorded in 2022. The champion thrower said he was working hard and on a good day should be able to breach 90m. “I prefer to win and not think of distance,” he explained.

Known as golden boy of Indian track and field, Neeraj Chopra, was excited to see youngsters watching athletics at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium. “I’m excited to see so many fan followers at the stadium,” he added.

IANS