When Michael Johnson picks you for special praise, it means serious business. It’s little wonder then that Neeraj Chopra is “honoured and humbled” to get a thumbs-up from the American track legend and four-time Olympic gold medallist. Earlier this week, Johnson tweeted a video of Chopra’s sprints and exclaimed, “He’s a javelin thrower! Olympic champion javelin thrower, but a javelin thrower. With sprinter/jumper movement!”
The video shows Chopra engaged in a variety of routines, ranging from conventional sprints to high knees and lateral runs, aimed at building his speed. “I have been doing this warm-up routine for a while now. The idea is to get a faster and more powerful run-up,” Chopra, who is currently based at Loughborough University in the UK for pre-season training, said in a virtual press conference on Saturday.
“It’s a great honour to be acknowledged by someone like him. He (Johnson) is a track and field legend and for him to be impressed by my sprint is awesome. Maybe when I meet him someday, I’ll show him my sprint prowess too,” he said.
Training under German biomechanics expert Dr Klaus Bartonietz with physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha for support, Chopra is working on his strength and power since returning from a break. He has not started hurling the spear yet but is throwing heavy medicine balls (8-10kg) to condition his deltoids.
With a technique built on flexibility than raw power — unlike Anderson Peters and Johannes Vetter — Chopra is aware of the perils of over-bulking.
“Every athlete has a different body type. Peters and Vetter have tremendous strength, while I rely on elasticity, more like Jan Zelezny. I can’t ape the likes of Vetter and bulk up too much because that will compromise my speed. This is an individual sport and each athlete has an individual method and technique,” the Tokyo Olympic champion said.
While 2022 saw Chopra become the first Indian athlete to take a World Championships silver besides winning the Diamond League Final, the magical mark of 90m remained elusive. He wants to set the record straight this year.
“I want to end that question once and for all,” he said. “Look, it’s a mark that I really want to achieve as it gives elite throwers bragging rights. But I am not taking any undue pressure because of it. I did my personal best last year and wish to better it this time.
“This is also a very important year in terms of competitions. There are World Championships, Asian Games and Diamond League Final. Those are the most important events for me. I hope a 90m throw will come along the way.”
Chopra came agonisingly close to the mark last year with 89.94m at the Stockholm Diamond League. He crossed 89m thrice in 2022 — all in a span of three months. The 25-year-old reckons he could have broken the barrier with a slightly more aggressive approach in Stockholm.
“I was in great rhythm but fell short by six centimetres. Had I run just 20 cm more, I could have gone past 90m. But no regrets. Maybe God has a time and place in mind,” he said.
Like last year, Chopra will have a slightly delayed start — “around May-June” — to his season. “The idea is to peak technically and physically around the Asian Games (Sept 23-Oct 8),” said Chopra whose next stop will be warmer South Africa where he will commence his throwing routines.
Chopra is also working on slight technical tweaks with an eye on defending his Olympics crown in Paris next year.
“Of course, Paris is on my mind and whatever technical adjustments I need to make I’ll do that this year itself to develop the muscle memory. Last year, we worked on minor corrections in my blocking (front) leg and ankle of the trailing (back) leg. We will try that in competitions this year,” he said.
The year will also see the return of Germany’s Vetter and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem from injuries. While Vetter is a serial 90m thrower, Nadeem entered the hallowed club en route to the Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham. Add to it Peters, who had a rivetting rivalry with the Indian last year, and Thomas Rohler – he had an injury-ravaged 2022, and the field looks quite packed.
“It’s good that all these guys are returning. It will be fun to go against the best in the business. There’s no pressure, neither of 90m nor of the competition. When I enter the field, all I want to do is give my best,” Chopra said.
