Pressure in Paris 2024 will be inevitable: Tokyo Olympics javelin champion Neeraj Chopra

New Delhi: World and Tokyo Olympics javelin champion Neeraj Chopra said that pressure will be inevitable when he goes to defend his title in Paris 2024. Saying training and competition is like chalk and cheese, Chopra, on a short break after his training in South Africa, told SAI media, “Managing pressure will be inevitable once you enter the Games Village and start focusing on your event.”

Chopra, who will be training in Turkey from this week ahead of returning to outdoor competition for the first time in 2024, said he was in “top physical shape” and “has never felt so good before.” The build-up to Tokyo 2020 was a challenging one for the 26-year-old Chopra who had missed an entire season due to injuries.

“I want to be in best possible shape before Paris. My training sessions have gone off really well so far. I always lay stress on fitness along with strength and technique. This is the best I have felt in a long time but I must add that training and competition are not the same. When you wear the India jersey, the feeling is different, the josh in us is unbelievable,” Chopra added.

Saying the years after Tokyo 2020 have been “very different,” Chopra said his performance indicated his preparation for global tournaments was going all right.

“I have won medals in two world championships, threw my personal best (89.94 metres at Stockholm), won a dream Diamond League title and even defended my gold at the Asian Games. All in all, I have been in great space and want to carry forward that momentum from May onwards,” said Chopra.

Chopra feels his “best is yet to come.” “I have felt at my best only once before during 2016 world junior championship. But after that I think I can do better and am still not satisfied. I am working hard and let’s see where I finish,” said the javelin superstar.

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