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The Times of India
The Times of India
Sport
Sabi Hussain | TNN

Neeraj Chopra caps splendid season with coveted Diamond League finals trophy

NEW DELHI: Neeraj Chopra is a lone wolf who believes in hunting, not being hunted down. He broke the hegemony of the Europeans in the men’s javelin throw competition with a historic Olympic gold in Tokyo last year. He took a 10-month sabbatical, then returned to serve a timely reminder to the Germans, the Czechs and the Finns of what lies ahead, as he opened his athletics season with a huge throw of 89.30m at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland in June.

On late Thursday night, five competitions after that Finland meet, Neeraj got another historic first when he launched his spear to dizzying heights of 88.44m at an overcast Letzigrund stadium in Zurich to become the first Indian-ever to win the Diamond League Trophy. It was his third appearance in the Finals. In the absence of double world champion Anderson Peters, who suffered injuries during an attack on a party boat in his home country Grenada, Johannes Vetter and Thomas Rohler – both sidelined by injuries – Neeraj put his competitors in the shade with a memorable performance worthy of an Olympic champion.

His winning throw of 88.44m came in his second attempt after he fouled his opener. His next four attempts read 88m, 86.11m, 87m and 83.60m.

Tokyo silver medallist, Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic – who was the only javelin thrower among the six-man finalists to have a 90m-plus throw to his name this season – came second with a best effort of 86.94m, while reigning European champion, Julian Weber of Germany, finished third with a throw of 83.73m.

“My consistency was good. I had two throws of 88m and one 86m. I wasn’t satisfied with 88.44m either. I wanted to throw farther until the final throw of the competition. The goal was to keep focus until the last throw of the competition. But it was the last competition of the season, so I was a little tired,” Neeraj said on Friday during a virtual press interaction from Zurich.

The Diamond League title capped off an incredible season for Neeraj, who also became the first Indian-ever to secure a historic silver at the World athletics championships in Eugene (USA) in July. The former World junior champion has been keeping the Indian tricolour flying high in athletics at major competitions such as the Olympics, the Worlds or Diamond League events, motivating his fellow athletes back home to emulate his achievements.

What makes Neeraj’s sensational journey all the more special is the fact that he weighed 97kg when he returned to the training mode post his Tokyo exploits and had to shed 12-14kg to get back into shape. “Last year was a very new experience for me. The challenge at the start of the season was to get my fitness back. I started late because of the celebrations and felicitations after the Olympics. I worked on my technique and strength. I was technically quite good this time. I will not rest too much now and will start training early. I will keep my weight in check by not eating much. I will avoid everything I did in the last off-season in order to peak at the right time and maintain my fitness,” he added.

Neeraj sounded happy about his season, during which his throws averaged 88.59m. “I was consistent throughout the season, and that’s the good part. I was technically quite good. I had 89-plus throws in three competitions and was close to breaching the 90m-mark.”

Since he talked about the impending 90m-mark, Neeraj said he’s not losing sleep over it, though it has become sort of a ‘mental barrier’ for him. “I would say it’s a magical mark… it’s a barrier. But what if I hit the 90m mark and don’t win a medal, then what’s the point? For me, winning a medal is more important, not the distance. I am under no pressure to breach the 90m mark. It will happen when it has to.”

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