"Definitely, I'm Close To Breaching 90m": Neeraj Chopra

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra has been trying it for a while now and the ace javelin thrower says he is "close" to breaching the coveted 90-metre mark and just needs "favourable conditions" to assist him in his quest. Last year, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist had fallen agonisingly short of the 90m mark, throwing the spear to a distance of 89.94m at the Diamond League meet in Stockholm. "Definitely, I'm close. I just need one perfect day with favourable weather conditions and I am confident I'll be able to achieve the throw," Chopra said during an interview with Jio Cinema.

The Indian ace will be leading the country's challenge in the World Championship here. He said he has got used to dealing with the huge expectations from him every time he takes to the field.

"I have somewhat become accustomed to handling pressure. However, when I participate in competitions that occur once every two to four years (like the World Championships and the Olympics), there is undoubtedly a sense of responsibility.

"But, I always give my hundred percent and perform with complete focus. Initially, there were other factors which used to overwhelm me but gradually I have gotten used to it." On June 30, Chopra clinched the prestigious Diamond League title for the second consecutive time by throwing his spear to 87.66m but the 90m mark eluded the star.

Coming back from a one-month injury lay-off, Chopra's title-winning performance at the Lausanne leg in challenging conditions was below his own top-10 efforts but he still stamped his authority in the prestigious one-day meet.

"Competing and being consistent at the highest level against the world's best athletes is definitely challenging. At the beginning of the year, I had prepared quite