For Neeraj Chopra, breaching the 90m is a target, not an obsession Premium

The Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra has learned to take the burden of expectations of crossing the 90m mark for what it is — just expectations.

When Neeraj Chopra was crowned as the World’s numero uno javelin thrower last Monday, he was expectedly bombarded with congratulatory messages and praise befitting the achievement from all sections, national and international. It was yet another feather in the cap of the 25-year old who, with no disrespect to those who came before him, has single-handedly triggered a possible athletic revolution in India.

In fact, his achievements starting with the Tokyo Olympics may well be seen as a watershed moment in Indian sporting history, breaking the invisible glass ceiling for Indian track & field athletes in terms of international performance, confidence and belief. And yet, when he takes the field on June 3 at the FBK Games in The Netherlands, there will be the one small question that has followed him forever — will he cross the 90m mark?

It’s something that Neeraj has now accepted as the default conversation-opener every time he talks — to the media, the officials, the fans and any Indian he meets during his competitive and training outings anywhere in the world. Make no mistake, they are everywhere. He has also learned to take the burden of expectations for what it is — just expectations.

Soon after winning the Olympic gold, Neeraj had admitted the target was on his mind but more as a motivation to improve than anything else.

Also read: Tokyo Olympics | How Neeraj made the gold

“The 90m mark is an important barrier. The best in the world have got it and it is important for me to personally consider myself a genuine world-level thrower,” he had said but insisted that it was not something he thought of too often. “It is a target but not an obsession. It can be 89.99m or 90.1m also in competition at some point, it won’t change the way I train,” he had explained.

To those in the know, however, Neeraj’s anointment as destiny’s child started five years before the rainy, windy night in Tokyo, when he set a new junior World record en route to winning gold at the 2016 World Junior Championships. Since then, through competitions ranging from the SAF Games all the way up, the 2022 World Championships is the only blip in his still-improving golden career — he could only manage a silver in Eugene.