• Source:JND
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Neeraj Chopra, India's star Javelin Thrower will be aiming to add more feathers to his cap which already includes the World Championship and Tokyo Olympic medal as he gears up for action for the first time in 2024.

Neeraj will now be training in Turkey from this week before taking the field in an outdoor competition, saying he is "top physical shape" and "has never felt so good before."

The 26-year-old had a challenging build-up to the Tokyo Games, having missed the entire season prior to that due to injuries.

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"I want to be in the best possible shape before Paris," Chopra, who is on a short break after his training stint in South Africa said of the 2024 event.

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"My training sessions have gone off really well so far. I always lay stress on fitness along with strength and technique.

"This is the best I have felt in a long time but I must add that training and competition are not the same. When you wear the India jersey, the feeling is different, the josh (energy) is unbelievable," Chopra added.

Chopra went on to make an interesting remark, saying that the time after his Gold Medal win at the Tokyo Olympics has been "very different".

In the enormous event in 2020, Neeraj came up with his best throw of 87.58m in his second attempt to become the first Indian Olympian to win a gold medal in athletics, and the first post-independence Indian Olympic medalist in athletics.

Chopra said his performance thereafter indicated that his preparation for global tournaments was going in the right direction.

"I have won medals in two World Championships, threw my personal best (89.94 metres at Stockholm), won a dream Diamond League title and even defended my gold at the Asian Games," he said.

"All in all, I have been in great space and want to carry forward that momentum from May onwards."

While talking about the much-awaited 90m mark, Chopra expressed his focus on the perfect execution and said that "distance doesn't matter to him."

Recently, German's Max Dehning came up with a throw of a distance of 90.20 meters at a German winter meet.

But Chopra said it "did not add any pressure" but only indicated that the level of competition this year will be stiff.

"What matters to me is staying 100 percent fit, being consistent during the season, and delivering on the day that matters," he said.

"I think there are mistakes to fix and looking at the increasing competition all around, one has to keep improving.
"The road will close if you think you have done it all," Chopra added.

 

(With Agency Inputs)

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