Paris, August 6
Following his qualification to the final of the men's javelin throw at the ongoing Paris Olympics, India's defending champion and World Championships gold medalist Neeraj Chopra laid out the differences between playing at Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and in Paris this year and also said that defending his title serves as a motivation to him.
Chopra registered a huge throw of 89.34 metres in Group B of the men's javelin throw qualification round at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday and made his way into the finals. The star athlete threw 89.34 m in his first attempt, his best throw this season. The final will be played on Thursday at 11:55 pm IST. He successfully breached the qualification mark of 84.00 m.
Speaking on JioCinema, Neeraj said that he threw the javelin in sunshine at Tokyo, but it is much cooler and less humid at Paris.
"In Tokyo, we threw in the sunshine and here it's a bit cooler and the humidity is much lesser. Tokyo was much warmer and more humid than Paris. The big difference is that there are crowds here," said Neeraj.
On the challenge of defending his title, Neeraj stated: "Being defending champion is motivation and I need to be prepared. The mind should be focused on doing the job at hand."
Talking about his throw during the qualification round, Neeraj said that though his throw was good, the final remains the "real deal".
"Final will be a cracker, the Tokyo final mark has already been surpassed by qualification. We were a little relaxed today. The burden and pressure will be much more in the final," he added.
Chopra also discussed his injury concerns and said: "I have had a few issues with my groin & that is why I did not take part in a lot of competitions. It is important to stay fit and reach the final."
Chopra's first attempt was his all-time second-best throw at a men's javelin event, with his top throw coming at Stockholm Diamond League 2022 with a distance of 89.94 m. It was also the 26-year-old's best throw in any qualification round. He won India its sole gold medal in the last Olympics.
Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who is also one of Neeraj's closest rivals, joined the Indian star for the men's javelin final with his season-best throw of 86.59 m. Arshad and Neeraj have developed a healthy rivalry over the years, with Neeraj dominating the head-to-head record 9-0. However, Arshad's best effort of 90.18 m in the 2022 Commonwealth Games is ahead of Neeraj's top effort.
Asian Games silver medalist Kishore Jena finished ninth in Group A of the men's javelin throw qualification round, failing to advance to the medal round.
Kishore's best attempt of 80.73 m could give him only the ninth spot. Only four competitors from group A advanced to the medal round. To advance to the final round for the medal, the athlete will have to finish among the top 12 best athletes across both groups A and B, as per Olympics.com.
Jena's best attempt came in his first throw. His second attempt was not deemed to be valid and the third attempt was only 80.21.