Indian star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has promised to be fully fit for the upcoming season. On Friday, September 27, Neeraj said that his next target is to achieve a place on the podium at the 2025 Tokyo World Championships.
Two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj had finished second in the Diamond League final in Brussels. Neeraj, who won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, won the silver medal in the Paris Olympics.
Neeraj is the first track and field athlete from India to win medals in two consecutive Olympics. The 26-year-old player told PTI-Video on the sidelines of a conference organized by Haryana Sports University on Mission Olympics 2036, “My season is over now. The biggest target for next year is the World Championship and we will start preparing for it now. The Olympics are always on our mind, but we have four years for that.
The World Championships are scheduled to be held from September 13 to 21 next year. Chopra struggled with muscle injuries throughout the year and it affected his performance at both the Olympics and the Diamond Finals. He also competed in the Diamond League finals with a broken left hand.
He talked about consulting doctors at the end of the session to decide whether surgery would be required to recover from the injury. When asked about his fitness, Chopra shrugged off injury concerns and said he was focusing on improving his technique. He said, “This year has been full of injuries for me but now the injury is fine now. I will be completely fit for the new season.
“There are technical issues also but we will work on them,” he said. I will focus on improving my technique. I like to practice in India also but when competitions start, it is better for me to practice abroad.
Indian players won six medals in the Olympics but there was no gold medal. When asked about this, Chopra said, “Many of our players were in fourth position. (But) this time, we performed very well in the Paralympics and won many medals.” He said, ”We are hopeful of a strong performance in both the Olympics and Paralympics in the times to come.
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