India’s poster boy for athletics, Neeraj Chopra, is not letting his foot off the pedal anytime soon as the 24-year-old strives for greatness in his sport. The Olympic silver medallist went on to improve his season-best throw during yesterday’s event in the Lausanne Diamond League.
Another impressive throw of 89.49m in the Diamond League improved his season’s record, which he set a few days earlier at the Paris Olympics.
Chopra has been struggling with his groin lately and has even mentioned it quite a few times between tournaments. However, he has been one of the most consistent athletes of his generation ever since he bagged India’s first-ever Olympic gold in athletics at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Consistency personified
After winning the historic gold for India, Neeraj Chopra has taken part in 20 tournaments for India so far. In those 20 events, Neeraj has never finished outside the top two positions, which shows his extraordinary consistency over the past few years.
The life of an athlete is quite difficult, considering how injury-prone their movements tend to get while they strive to produce their best-ever performance every time they step on the track. To register such consistent figures for such a long time is nothing short of an achievement in itself.
Chopra finished behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters, who threw a brilliant 90.61m, breaking Keshorn Walcott’s 9-year-old meeting record of 90.16m on the night.
Aiming for the 90m mark
For Neeraj Chopra, the only milestone left is the elusive 90m mark. He’s been closing in on it for some time, and it’s only a matter of time before he hits it. A gifted athlete, Chopra understands the opportunities before him and is relentlessly working to make every moment count.
First Published: Aug 23 2024 | 12:16 PM IS