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Neeraj Chopra, the toast of Indian athletics, and the Tokyo Olympic javelin gold medallist appears ready to medal in Eugene, Oregon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.
In June he twice improved upon his own national record with a 89.94 throw at the Stockholm Diamond League meet last week.
It felt amazing to be back on the Diamond League circuit and even better to get a new PB!
— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) June 30, 2022
All the throwers put up a great show tonight for the crowd in Stockholm!
Next stop ➡️ Representing 🇮🇳 at the World Championships in Eugene pic.twitter.com/OpiXyrp4wv
The 24-year-old, will be competing in both the World Championships as well as the Birmingham Commonwealth Games shortly after. Additionally, he was planning on throwing at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China but the meet is now postponed.
Thursday in Stockholm, he improved on his national record of 89.30m which he accomplished during the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland just 16 days prior to Stockholm. He won Olympic gold with a throw of 87.58m.
His national record toss in Sweden wasn’t enough for the win. Reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada threw a 90.31m with his third attempt, which is a new meet record for the win.
“When Peters crossed the 90m-mark, I thought I had to chase it,” Neeraj Chopra said after the event. “But the body starts to lose a bit of energy after every throw. I was happy with the fact that I could record good throws in all my attempts.” Neeraj Chopra, who logged valid throws in all six attempts, said.
Chopra has earned gold in various other international competitions including the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (86.47m), U20 World Championships (86.48m), Jakarta Asian Games (88.06m), and is a multi-time national champion.
The current world record dates back to 1996 and stands at 98.48m by Czech legend Jan Železný at a meet in Jena, Germany.
