Doha, May 11: It was not finishing second, but missing the 90-metre target, which hurt Olympic and World Champion Neeraj Chopra, after his performance in the Diamond League in Doha on Friday.
Neeraj was ‘not happy’ after finishing second in the javelin throw discipline of his first Diamond League event of the year on Friday.
With his back against the wall, the Indian star came up with his best throw in his sixth and final attempt in Doha but missed the top spot by just 0.2 metres. Chopra had a best throw of 88.36 metres, ending behind Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, who finished first with a best effort of 88.38.
"Honestly, I felt I could throw beyond 88m, but that did not happen. I am happy with the fact that I was consistent with my throws, but not with my efforts. My first throw was very bad (foul)," Neeraj said to NNIS.
"This is my first competition, the good thing is that despite my body was not at the peak (I don't know for what reason), I could throw 88m. There are more competitions coming up, I will work hard and prepare for the next competition. I will play three to four competitions before the Paris Olympics," added the athlete.
Neeraj, however, remained confident of achieving the elusive 90m throw.
"Today I felt I could do it, but somewhere I could not. Maybe God wants me to do it somewhere else. But I am happy with my consistent performances, and I will throw over 90m," he said.
Talking about his burgeoning rivalry with Jakub, who finished behind Neeraj at the Tokyo Olympics and fell to third place at the Eugene World Championships with the Indian snatching away the silver medal, Neeraj said, "It was a good competition with Jakub, I was just behind by 2 cm. It feels good when there is a good contest. We push each other to go for better throws. In the upcoming competitions I will do better."
Neeraj Chopra will next participate in the Federation Cup, starting from May 12, which will be his first domestic tournament in three years. Neeraj last competed in the 2021 Federation Cup, which was held before the Tokyo Olympics, the javelin thrower made his mark by becoming the first Indian to win an Olympic gold in athletics.
Can Neeraj achieve the 90-m target in Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar? Interestingly, he would be competing against his compatriot from Odisha, Kishore Kumar Jena at the latter's home-state.
If Chopra finished second in Diamond League, then Jena finished ninth, which was bit unexpected.
But the Bhubaneswar crowd is expected to cheer both Chopra and Jena aloud. Worth remembering that later this year, both Neeraj and Kishore would be representing India in the Paris Olympics 2024. (With IANS support)
