Neeraj Chopra has been here before — in a major final with expectations of a nation resting on his shoulders and a world class field waiting to test him. It is a rare situation for an Indian athlete to be in, but such is his consistency and talent that each time Chopra steps up, the nation fervently expects a medal.
Anju Bobby George’s long jump bronze in Paris 20 years ago was a happy anomaly until Chopra won silver in Eugene last year. He now has the chance to go one better and become India’s first world athletics champion in Budapest on Sunday night.
The mood in the Indian camp was relaxed on Saturday. Their finalists — DP Manu and Kishore Jena are the others — trained together briefly before turning their focus on individual routines.
“Neeraj knows how to prepare for the big finals. We did light, low-intensity training in the evening to ensure the body doesn’t go into rest stage. There will be some warm-up before the event and he’ll be ready,” Chopra’s German coach and biomechanics expert, Klaus Bartonietz, said from Budapest.
“The conditions here are quite good. The competition is in the evening, but it stays warm and there is no wind, so we should have a good day,” he said. A “good day” may mean many things, including Chopra achieving the much-awaited 90m mark. Result is the last thing on Bartonietz’s mind.
“Our focus will be on sticking to the process. Consistency is one of Neeraj’s biggest strengths. He will also have a psychological edge because he is the only finalist who qualified on his first attempt. They will be hunting for him, but Neeraj is a wily fox; he knows how to deal with the hunters.
“Still, this is sport and anything can happen. What if Neeraj throws 90m and someone comes up with a better effort? What we can control is giving our best. We believe in setting realistic goals.”
With a personal best of 89.94m achieved last year, Chopra has been pushing for the 90m mark for some time. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, his main challengers for Sunday’s final, have 90-plus throws while four other finalists have gone beyond 89m. The absence of double world champion Anderson Peters may favour Chopra, but the coach believes there’s little that separates the field.
“We respect the competition. At this level, the difference in skills is minimal. Elite finals are a game of fine margins and we hope to deliver on the big night. We also understand the hysteria and expectations back in India. He has the ability to shut himself to the noise and get the job done.”
Chopra often produces big throws early on, and qualified for the final in Budapest with a big first attempt of 88.77m. Things may not work out that way always. At Eugene, Chopra had to wait till his fourth throw to rise to second. At the Lausanne Diamond League in June, Chopra’s winning throw was his fifth attempt.
“Every thrower, not just Neeraj, likes to set the tone but sometimes it may not be possible. Neeraj has it in him to win on his last throw as well,” Bartonietz said.
In Pune and Patiala too, the mood was upbeat. Manu’s coach Kashinath Naik and Jena’s coach Samarjeet Singh Malhi backed their wards to make an impression. Manu (81.31m) and Jena (80.55) went through as the 12 best in qualifying. The automatic qualifying mark was 83m.
“Technically, Neeraj is among the strongest throwers in the world. He has the muscle memory to consistently nail big throws, and considering the conditions in Budapest, I think he will win gold with a 90m throw,” Naik, 2010 CWG bronze medallist and one of Chopra’s early coaches, said.
“Manu had a bunch of 84m-plus throws during the 25-day camp in Bengaluru, including an 86m effort. We’re also trying to perfect his follow through. If he can get that right, I won’t rule out 85m, which can put him in medal position,” Naik said.
