Neeraj eyes World title, focuses on consistently throwing beyond 90m

After managing to get the monkey off his back by crossing the 90m barrier at the Doha Diamond League earlier this year, double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra has set his sights firmly on achieving greater consistency while targeting a podium finish at the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo later this year.

Speaking at an event in Gurgaon, the reigning world champion stressed that while he has been performing well in training, translating that form into consistent competition results remains a key challenge.

Advertisement

Chopra revealed that his legendary coach, Jan Zelezny, a three-time Olympic and World Champion, has been instrumental in refining his technique, particularly by correcting a flaw that caused him to fall towards his left side during the throw, leading to a significant loss of power.

“While throwing the javelin, I tend to fall too much on my left side. I waste a lot of power and strength while doing that. In training, we identify those problems, but in competition, I am not able to follow that,” Neeraj admitted.

The Panipat-born javelin star noted that although he has successfully implemented changes in events like the Doha and Paris Diamond Leagues, he still needs to work on his consistency to maintain throws above 90m.

“I have achieved 90m this year. But I need to be more consistent to achieve it more often. I am continuously around 88–89m, and my coach said he is happy, but I need to be more consistent,” he said.

Looking ahead, the 27-year-old Chopra has set his eyes on a podium finish at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships, scheduled for September.

“My next target is the World Championships, and I want to win there. Before the World Championships, I will plan with my coach and see which event I can compete in to best prepare for it,” he stated.

Despite the occasional setback, Chopra remained optimistic in his training and coaching. “My coach is very good, he has been a very good, legendary athlete. As a person also, he is very helpful. He is working a lot on my technique,” Chopra added.