Neeraj Chopra after winning Paris Olympic silver: I can still better my throw distance by over four metres when fully fit

The 26-year-old detailed his struggles on the runway, where several of his throws were deemed fouls during the finals.

Neeraj Chopra of Team India competes in the during the Men’s Javelin Throw Final at Paris Olympics 2024. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Neeraj Chopra, after securing his second consecutive Olympic medal with a silver in the javelin throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics, is now focussed on regaining his full fitness. The 26-year-old athlete opened up about how an injury has significantly hampered his training, limiting his practice throws and affecting his speed. However, Neeraj remains optimistic about improving his performance once he overcomes his groin injury.

“First, I want to get fit. I’m throwing well and with consistency, and if I can improve my technique and sort out my injury, I can do even better. My coach always says that if the blocking leg starts working and the groin injury gets better, I can still better my throw by over four meters,” said Neeraj.

“I’ve been throwing constantly over 88 metres for some years now, and in javelin, if everything works, then it can increase distance by two, three, even four meters,” he added.

The Tokyo Olympic gold medallist also spoke about his struggles on the runway, noting that several of his throws were deemed fouls during the finals.

“I was missing the mark of crossover steps (from which the athlete continues running but the body turns to the side in position to slingshot the javelin), and I was struggling with the foul line tonight (Thursday). A few of my throws were called foul throws, and it started to play on my mind because it doesn’t happen to me. Along with my injury, the fouls had an adverse mental effect during the event on me. When you try to save yourself from fouls, then it hinders the throw,” he explained.

Neeraj also mentioned that he participated in several tournaments despite not being fully fit, feeling compelled to do so.

“I want to play all the time. I work really hard on my game to compete. I had to withdraw from several tournaments due to injuries, and for that, you need to write to them, and I don’t like that. I played several tournaments without being fully fit out of compulsion after registering. I didn’t want to disappoint the organisers,” he shared.