There is a whiff of freshness in the air when Neeraj Chopra is around.. And yet, there is familiar scent, too. There is a business-like demeanour ahead of the biggest competition since he got home a gold medal from the Tokyo Olympic Games, but it is laced with a gentle and very human approach as he winds himself up for the World Athletics Championships.
The good thing is the young man from Panipat has remained grounded, not allowing adulation to become a distraction. Back in the Tokyo Olympic Games, he was more of a challenger that a gold medal hopeful. His victory, watched by millions of Indians on multiple screens, galvanised the nation like little else done by one athlete has.
But now, the challenge is different. The Olympic Games gold medal has brought along immense attention. While that can only be a good thing for his sport, it does have the potential to come with pressure. Thus far, it appears that he has remained untouched by this burden of expectation and has gone about his preparation without fuss.
It is good to see him relaxed and not let all the talk of a medal in the World Championships get to him. The two times this writer chanced upon Neeraj Chopra in Eugene, there has been no palpable evidence of him being anxious. His genial nature remains an asset and his friendly demeanour is worthy of a truly world class athlete.
When a set of Indian athletes arrived in Chula Vista towards the end of last month or in early July, Neeraj Chopra made it a point to drop into the rooms of each athlete. None would have grudged him if he chose to shut himself off the rest of the squad but he showed that he retained the inherent ability to keep feet rooted to ground and head on his shoulders.
He will set the ball rolling in the qualifying round for the Javelin Throw, pursuing the basic target of 83.50m to attain automatic qualification to Sunday’s final. He unleashed an 86.65m throw to not just top qualification in the Olympic Games but also make his intentions clear that he was out to challenge the best of the throwers.
You can expect him to come up with a similar throw on Friday (5.05 p.m local time, 5:35 a.m. on Saturday in India). But he will also be aware that he will not be the only one keen to raise the bar as it were. Pretty recently, Grenada’s Anderson Peters was motivated by Neeraj Chopra’s 89m effort to uncork a massive throw past the 93m mark.
In fact, take a look at some of the men in the Indian’s qualifying group. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch is ranked one slot above Neeraj Chopra’s World No. 4. Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshom Walcott and Germany’s Andreas Hofmann are others who have thrown over 90m while the Indian’s personal best is an 89.94m effort.
In the other group, where Rohit Yadav has been drawn, are men like World No. 1 Anderson Peters and Kenya’s Julius Yego who have both sent the Javelin over 90m. Oliver Helander (Finland) and Julian Weber (Germany) are others who have personal bests over 89m. It tells you of the kind of competition in Oregon22, though the feared Johannes Vetter is not here.
Training at a location away from the competition venue since the iconoc Howard Field does not have a Javelin Throw practice area, Rohit Yadav and physiotherapist Ishaan Marwah followed Annu Rani’s progress to the women’s final on a mobile device. And yet, he would not be worried about his own competitors.
There always has been a method to all that he does. Last year, he was desperate for competition ahead of the Olympic Games. Athletics Federation of India and Sports Authority of India teamed up to move heaven and earth to ensure that he would secure his Visa, get his Covid-19 vaccination, and be in the best frame of mind when he reached Tokyo.
Aware that he had put on weight in the wake the Tokyo gold, and aware that he not stayed in touch with the sport for a few months, he took off to Chula Vista Olympic Training Centre, away from all distractions. The first couple of months were spent in regaining fitness before he even picked up the Javelin.
He had embraced a similar routine twice. First, when coming back from injury rehab. Back in 2019, he was keen to compete in the World Championships in Doha but wiser counsel prevailed and he continued building strength. Then the pandemic-induced Lockdown in 2020 was a setback and he had to start from scratch when training could resume.
Drawing from that experience, he started training with the Javelin only later, moving to Antalya in Turkey. A change of location helps an athlete sample different conditions. Neeraj Chopra competed in three events in Europe, including the Paavo Nurmi Games and the Stockholm Diamond League on June 30 when he got to within 6m of 90m.
It is just as well that he did not win either event, despite nailing new National Records in both place. It will keep him hungry and everyone else around him aware that the outcome of such competitions are not determined by one athlete’s performances alone; that someone can sneak in a better throw to claim pole position.
Eugene takes pride in calling itself TrackTown, given its rich legacy dating back to more than a century during which men like Bill Hayward and Bill Bowerman have made the University of Oregon a standout sporting institution. There is a good chance that Neeraj Chopra will bring his A game to the fore at the hallowed but renovated Hayward Field.
This piece first appeared here. https://www.firstpost.com/sports/neeraj-chopra-at-world-athletics-championships-2022-history-in-sight-at-tracktown-10938901.html
