Spearhead!

Mumbai: After raising expectations with a gold medal at the April Commonwealth Games and following it up with another top podium finish in France recently, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra wants to give his best at next month’s Asian Games.

Chopra had thrown 86.47 metres to be on top of the podium at Gold Coast. Earlier this month, he claimed a gold at the Sotteville Athletics meet in France with an effort of 85.17 metres.

The 20-year-old from Panipat is currently undergoing intense training under German coach Uwe Hohn in Finland. “My preparations for the Asian Games are going very well at Sports Institute of Finland Olympic Training Center under the German coach. I am trying to participate in one or two competitions before going to Jakarta,” Chopra said.

Despite being in top form, the youngster feels his podium finish will depend on the day of the competition. “My performance will depend on the day and how my body reacts. Athletes from countries like Chinese Taipei, China, Qatar and Japan would be good competitors at the Asian Games,” he said.

Chopra makes League Final cut
On Friday, Chopra qualified for the finals of the IAAF Diamond League 2018 along with five others to be held in Zurich on August 30. At the Doha Diamond League in May, he threw 87.43 metres and stood fourth.

It was a throw that saw him break his 2016 national record of 86.48 metres set at the Under-20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The next DL meeting at Eugene saw him mark 80.81 metres, finishing sixth in tricky conditions.

“Diamond League is a big competition on par with the Olympics and the World Championships as top level athletes come to participate. It will be great to participate in this event and I have experienced it before,” he said.

Son of a farmer who started throwing from fields in the Khandra Village, Chopra admitted expectations to do well are high. “My throwing distance has improved and my world rankings have been good. I won gold at the South Asian Games, U-20 World Championships, Asian Championships and CWG. Now expectations are high from me and I will try to do best at the Asiad,” he said.