Kishore should reach 90 meters before me: Neeraj Chopra
New Delhi: Tokyo Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra commented that he is often questioned about reaching the 90m throw, but suggested that perhaps his compatriot Kishore Jena will achieve the mark before him.
Rising javelin throw star Jena had won a silver medal at the Asian Games last year with her personal best throw of 87.54m, finishing behind Neeraj who had won the gold medal. for the first time in
During a virtual media interaction, when asked about Jena’s resurgence on the international stage and two Indian javelin throwers competing at the world level, Neeraj lauded his compatriot and said it would be a dream come true. If there are two Indians on the podium. Olympics.
“It would be a dream come true if we had two Indians on the podium in Paris. Who knows, there could be more than two. We already had two on the podium in the Asian Games… but it would be par if in the Olympics It would have been more satisfying if we had two players. I think Jenna will work hard to do that. I think she will do well there.
“Last year, he made good progress from Worlds to Asian Games. He has improved a lot, while I have been stuck at 88m since 2018. And since everyone keeps asking me about reaching 90m, who knows That Kishore would probably reach 90 meters before me!”
After starting his season at the Doha Diamond League meet in May, Neeraj will compete at the Paavo Nurmi Games in June facing high-quality competitors, including Germany’s Max Dehning, the youngest-ever Have become javelin throwers. Crossed the coveted 90m mark earlier this year with a throw of 90.20m, which is a world-leading mark.
Addressing the possibility of competing against Max, the reigning world champion said that competing against someone who has thrown 90m is nothing new. He said he is looking forward to the opportunity to compete against Max.
He said, “When I participated in the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s World Championships and other competitions, many athletes threw more than 90 meters. So, competing against people who throw such distances is nothing new.” Is.”
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“Like I always say; it’s what you can throw that day. I’m excited to get the chance to compete against them. The more they get into the competition, the more fun it gets. When We are competing together, the main thing is that the factor determining the winner is the one who handles the pressure better than others on that day.
He said, “I will be competing with Max at the Paavo Nurmi Games. I’ve never competed with him before. He went straight from 79 meters to 90 metres. He skipped the 80 meter page completely.”
Earlier in January this year, Neeraj had met Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer. The two sporting icons had exchanged notes about their passion, life experiences and the shared responsibility of being Switzerland Tourism Ambassadors.
When asked about the experience of the meeting and the conversation he had with Federer, Neeraj said, “I wanted to ask him how he had such a long career and how he played at the top for so long. He said whatever you want. It has to be balanced.” And you also have to choose which competition is priority for you.”
“He said I had to choose which competitions I participated in. Because if I didn’t train and just competed, I would be more likely to get injured. That’s one of the reasons why I want to play less tournaments but at a higher level. level. Apart from sports, I asked him if he liked Indian food, and he said it was in his top five dishes!”
