Neeraj nails 85.17m to get gold in France

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, July 18

“I am slowly getting into winning zone,” said javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, soon after winning the gold medal at the Sotteville Athletics meet in France late Tuesday night. 

Chopra threw the javelin to 85.17 metres to comfortably take gold ahead of a field that included 2012 London Olympics gold medallist Keshorn Walcott.

Moldova’s Andrian Mardare took silver at 81.48m while Lithuania’s Edis Matusevicius (79.31m) finished third. Walcott’s best of 78.26m was good enough only for fifth place.

Chopra is preparing for the upcoming Asian Games, to be held at Jakarta-Palembang in August-September. India’s star javelin thrower is on a two-month training stint in Europe before he participates in the Asian Games. “I think I am peaking at the right time, and this competition was a build-up for me,” Chopra said while talking to The Tribune over the phone. “I am hopeful that when I go to the Asian Games, I would be at my peak.”

Chopra’s best of 85.17m came on his fifth attempt. He was utterly dominant in the meet as he was the only thrower to cross 85m, that too twice. Chopra had hurled the javelin to 85.12m in his third attempt before later improving on it by 5cm.

Focus on speed

Chopra said that over the past two months, he has been exclusively focussing on conditioning. “Right now, more than the technique I am putting my efforts to improve my speed, and core ability,” the 20-year-old from Panipat said.  “I have improved a lot, and presently I am shifting from volume-training to intensity-training to achieve peak at Asian Games.”

Chopra, who won a historic gold at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April, said he’s aiming to hit the 90m mark at the Asian Games. “I want the gold medal in the Asian Games by crossing the dream mark of 90m,” he said.

Discussing his plans for the build-up for the Asian Games, Chopra said: “I may be participating in one or two competitions, but I am not sure. The coach would decide after having some practice sessions in Finland.”