Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra: I was attempting to break 90m mark

Neeraj Chopra, India’s newly crowned Olympic champion in men’s javelin throw, has said that he was attempting to break the 90-metre mark at the finals today.

On Saturday, the 23-year old Haryana-born international javelin thrower scripted history by becoming the first ever Indian to win gold in track and field at the Tokyo Olympic Games. His gold winning throw was 87.58m.

HISTORY. MADE.Neeraj Chopra of #IND takes #gold in the #Athletics men’s javelin final on his Olympic debut!He is the first Indian to win an athletics medal and only the second to win an individual medal!@WorldAthletics | #StrongerTogether | #Tokyo2020 | @WeAreTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/zBtzHNqPBE

— Olympics (@Olympics) August 7, 2021

“After first two good attempts, my focus was to cross the 90m mark. In an attempt to achieve 90m I used more power but it spoiled my technique. It also resulted in moderate throws,” the Olympic champion said during an online media interaction from Tokyo on Saturday.

Neeraj said he didn’t feel the pressure to compete at the Olympics or win gold. My main focus was to perform better than a personal best of 88.07m, he said.

@Neeraj_chopra1 The Javelin national record holder with a distance of 88.07M in the Indian Grand Prix. ---#neerajchopra #JavelinThrow #olympics #tokyo2020 #MyField pic.twitter.com/ZyqwfXkCkF

— My Field (@myfieldindia) August 2, 2021

“When I step up to the throwing arena, I shut my mind to the outside world. My only focus is to do my best and nothing else. Since I was focused on my performance, it automatically took away the pressure of winning gold. In a way, it enabled me to perform at my best,” he added.

According to Neeraj, he was so engrossed in his event that he only realized that he was on track to win gold towards the end of the competition.

“I came to know that I’m on track to win gold before my sixth and last attempt. That’s why I took it easy on my sixth and last attempt,” added Neeraj.

According to the Olympic champion, the field in the final was strong. But it all depends who performs on the given day. I was prepared to do my best, said Neeraj.

“There were good throwers in the final. But the Olympic Games are different platforms. Sometimes even the best can’t win medals. Pre-event favorite Johannes Vetter of Germany failed to advance into the top eight in the final. He missed the final three attempts for the gold medal match. I feel sorry for him. He was the world's leading thrower. But that is all about Olympics,” said Neeraj.

Neeraj said he was hopeful that his gold-medal winning performance would give fillip to athletics in the country.

“I will appeal to the Athletics Federation of India to invest more in javelin so that budding athletes are able to win more medals at the world level in the future,” he said.

Neeraj's gold medal came through meticulous planning and government support: Adille Sumariwalla, Athletics Federation of India president

Adille Sumariwalla, president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said that Neeraj’s outstanding feat at the Tokyo Olympic Games was the collective effort of all the stakeholders.

“Meticulous planning with the support of the government enabled Neeraj to win gold in Tokyo and end the medal drought in athletics,” said Adille.

Rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra was the first Indian to win an individual gold medal in the men’s 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

According to Adille, Neeraj graduated to senior level through various age group competitions.

“Neeraj’s gold medal winning performance at the Tokyo Olympic Games points out that the AFI junior development programme is going in the right direction,” added Adille.