"Want To Be In Elite Club Of 90m+ Throwers": Neeraj Chopra To NDTV

Tokyo Olympics gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will return to action today for the first time after a span of 10 months since his historic gold medal last year. In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Neeraj Chopra speaks about his target and the process to achieve the same.

Question: Neeraj, you are finally set to begin a new chapter in your career. When I visited your place in Khandra (Sonepat) last year, you told us that you wanted to train in Gloria Sports Arena in Turkey. Now you are training in Finland, where your 1st tournament of the season is set to take place. What difference do you see in your training at both places?

Neeraj Chopra: Turkey is also good. The diet and training facilities are really good in Turkey. But I chose to come to Finland as I have to play two competitions here and then there is a tournament in Europe. So, it will help me commute from here to different places of competition. It saves the travelling time.

Question: You told us before that planning is a key aspect of your training schedule. Now you are focusing on which aspects of your game, and are you delighted to know that many athletes in India have started to throw more than 80m?

Neeraj Chopra: Absolutely, many athletes in India have started throwing in the 80-plus metres range. Rohit, Yashvir, Manu DP, Sahil, and many other juniors are doing pretty well. At the international level also, many athletes are showing fabulous performances (Anderson Peters of Grenada and Czech player Jakub Vadlejch have thrown in the range of 90m+ this year). German throwers are also doing well. As a result, competition in javelin has reached new heights around the world.

Question: What are you planning for yourself this season?

Neeraj Chopra: My team