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Paris: India’s Neeraj Chopra competes in the Men’s javelin throw qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
Neeraj Chopra brought a smile to the faces of millions in India again as he stepped on the track at the Paris Olympics 2024 and produced another dazzling display in his javelin throw qualification event.
Following his impressive throw of 89.94m that earned him an automatic qualification on August 6, the defending Olympic champion spoke about his performance.
“I waited for this moment for a long time. This is just the first step in Paris. The main event is still left and I’ll try my best in the final as well. My groin had been troubling me coming into the tournament, which is why I skipped some of the tournaments with the Olympics in focus,” Neeraj said while speaking to Jio Cinema about his preparations leading to the Olympics.
“I understand that the spotlight was on me, but the first job is on the track and that is the biggest spotlight you can get,” Neeraj added.
“The final is going to be amazing, and we will get to see a better performance from everyone in comparison to Tokyo. The pressure will be there, but we’ll always try for the best in the tournament. The conditions in Tokyo were sunny, whereas here in Europe we get much cooler and less humid weather. The main difference is the crowd, as the stadium is full this time compared to Tokyo where only a few people were in the stadium,” Neeraj said about the competition and the difference in conditions this year.
Neeraj Chopra has always been a figure who doesn’t want too much attention and just wants to focus on the event. However, being an Olympic champion gets you the attention whether you want it or not. Speaking about the same, Neeraj also explained how he is handling the attention and turning it into a motivational factor for himself.
“Being the defending Olympic champion is a motivation for me to do well this time, but having said that, I know that what happened in Tokyo will always stay there, and for me to win here, I have to do the work again, which keeps me focused on the job,” Neeraj said.
Speaking about the performances of other Indian athletes so far, Neeraj said, “I feel it is a big positive that Indian athletes are reaching the finals and finishing 4th in many events. We have to take it as a motivation. We will be reaching the medal positions in the coming years as more and more athletes are now participating from India in the Olympics.”
First Published: Aug 06 2024 | 10:13 PM IS