New Delhi. India’s star javelin thrower and Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra on Monday said that he aims to be technically better than before. Also saying that he has learned to manage the pressure and focus in high-profile events like the Olympics over the years he has spent in the sport.
Neeraj will start his 2023 athletics season on 5 May at the Doha Diamond League. He is the current Diamond League champion. He had won the trophy in Zurich in September last year and became the first Indian to win the title.
Neeraj Chopra will compete in the Doha, Lausanne, Monaco and Zurich legs of the 2023 Diamond League season to qualify for this year’s finals in Eugene, US.
High-profile events such as the Asian Games and the World Athletics Championships, starting September 23 in China, are also part of Chopra’s 2023 season.
“The preparation has been really good. We are focusing on our strengths. Now, we are working on the technical aspect and trying to get things right before Doha (Diamond League),” Neeraj Chopra told Olympic.com. It is going to be a long season with the Asian Games in September-October. So I want to make myself technically better than before.”
He is also the current champion of the Asian Games, having clinched the gold medal at the 2018 edition of the Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Neeraj had also won a silver medal in the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, USA last year and this time he will be aiming for gold. The 2023 edition of the championship is scheduled to be held in Budapest, Hungary, from August 19 to 27.
The Olympic champion, who is also India’s national record holder in his field, has not participated in any event since his win in Zurich last year due to injury. As a result, he missed the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham from July to August last year.
With the Paris 2024 Olympics round the corner, this season is crucial for Neeraj and is full of expectations from the fans.
“I know the pressure and expectations from Paris 2024 will be immense, but in all these years, I have learned how to contain myself and how to focus on the big competitions and on the big stage like the Olympics,” he added. Have to perform.”
2022 was an amazing year for Neeraj. In June, he set a new national record and won the silver medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland with a throw of 89.30m, bettering his previous national record of 88.07m, which he had set in Patiala in March last year.
Again in June, he produced another impressive performance to win the gold medal at the 2022 Kuorten Games in Finland with a distance of 86.69 metres.
At the World Athletics Championships in July, Neeraj Chopra created history by becoming only the second Indian and the first male track and field athlete to win a medal. He finished second and won the silver medal with a throw of 88.13m, realizing his goal of winning a world medal. Anju Bobby George had won a bronze medal for India in the long jump event before Neeraj.
In September, Chopra created history by winning the prestigious Diamond League Trophy with a best throw of 88.44 metres. He became the first Indian to win this title.
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