I was determined to give my 100 per cent: Neeraj Chopra

The javelin went a bit high, so I didn’t get the distance I wanted. But I set a national record, so I’m very happy about that, said the 20-year-old Panipat native.

Neeraj Chopra set a new Indian record with a throw of 88.06m – the fourth time he’s broken the national mark this year – on his third throw.

“I didn’t come here with the target of hitting 90m, but I was determined to give my 100 per cent and put my heart into it,” Neeraj Chopra said soon after winning India’s first javelin throw gold medal at the Asian Games, in Jakarta on Monday.

The Panipat native set a new Indian record with a throw of 88.06m – the fourth time he’s broken the national mark this year – on his third throw.

“It was not easy. But the thing is, my throws were good, and so I was able to perform well… The competition was pretty tough, and I believe that this is a very happy moment for me,” Chopra said. “The javelin went a bit high, so I didn’t get the distance I wanted. But I set a national record, so I’m very happy about that.”

The 20-year-old Chopra had entered the competition as the favourite to win, having won the Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships gold medals earlier this year and finishing fourth in a star-studded field at the Doha Diamond League that saw the German trio of Olympic champion Thomas Rohler, Johannes Vetter and Andreas Hofmann taking the three medals.

On his technique and coach Uwe Hohnm he said, “He made we work on my strength, weight training. Technically, we’ve not changed anything. After the final competitions – the Asian Games, the Diamond League, the Continental Cup – we might change some things technically.”

After the Asian Games, Chopra will be participating in the Diamond League final and the Continental Cup. “It’s very difficult for me because these are big competitions, but I’ll try to give good performances there, too,” he said.