'I will try to breach the 90m mark before Paris Olympics': Neeraj Chopra aims to retain his Olympic gold in Paris

Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has set a target of throwing the javelin 90 meters before the Paris Olympics 2024 and he says that the way his preparation is going, it can happen any time.

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"I will try to breach the 90m mark before that (Paris Olympics). Hopefully, it happens before Paris, everything is going on smoothly, so (people) might not have to wait till the Olympics, it might happen before that. The preparation is good." Neeraj Chopra said on Thursday.

Neeraj's best throw of 89.94 meters was achieved during the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League. In training, he has thrown the javelin 90 meters away but he has not been able to match this in the competition yet. 

"The self-confidence has definitely gone up"

The reigning world champion has had a good off-season training session, focusing on his fitness and strength. He said, "During the start of the season, the focus was on fitness and strength and no specific javelin training. I think I got a lot of improvement in technique because of that. Besides, the strength and conditioning training in South Africa and Turkey has also gone well," 

Neeraj said that after the success of the Tokyo Olympics, his confidence has increased a lot which will help him a lot in Paris Olympics. "After Tokyo, the self-confidence has definitely gone up. Besides, I have also played quite a few events... two world championships, a silver and a gold there, won the Diamond League trophy, made some good throws, then retained the Asian Games gold (in Hangzhou) as well. "So, the success between Tokyo and Paris has given me a lot of confidence that yes I can do it against strong competitors," Neeraj added. 

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Neeraj thinks that he would not be surprised if Kishore Jena won the silver medal at the Hangzhou Asiad with a throw of 87.54 meters, helping India finish first and second in the continental competition, can throw the javelin at a distance of 90 meters before him. "The way he has progressed in the world championships and the Asian Games, who knows Kishore might breach the 90m mark before me. 90m mark atka hua hai, but kabhi na kabhi ho jayega (That 90m-mark has not come thus far, but some day it will happen)." Neeraj said.