Over the past year, Neeraj Chopra has earned a reputation for himself. In any competition, whenever we see him running with the javelin, even before he throws in the first attempt, we can be sure that it will be his biggest throw. That’s how he has earned the sobriquet ‘one and done’.
On Friday, the reigning World champion opened up on the the reason behind giving his all in the very first throw. He also revealed an incident that made him to work on mastering his first throw.
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It all started in 2017 for Neeraj Chopra
Speaking at an event organised by Hindustan Times, the Tokyo Olympic champion reminisced a moment in 2017 that paved the way for him to decide on mastering his first throw.
“There was World Championship s in 2017 in London. 83m was automatic qualification, and I thought I can do it. My first two throws were good. I was under pressure in my third because it was the final throw,” he said as quoted by Hindustan Times.
“It was an 80m+ throw, but not enough to earn me a qualification. At that time, I decided I can’t go light in qualifications. I have to give my best every time, and try to qualify in the first throw itself. Since then, I’ve performed good,” he added.
Since then he has spent time working on his first throw and has now aced it to perfection. Much recently at the World Championships qualification, he registered a massive 88.77m in his very first attempt to qualify for the final. 83m was the qualification mark.
Having finished 2023 on a high after winning the gold medal, Neeraj Chopra will return back to action only in 2024. A big year is ahead of him as he looks to defend his Olympic medal as well as the World Championships crown.
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