'Might breach the 90m mark before Paris Olympics': Neeraj Chopra

Olympic goldmedallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is aiming to breach the 90m mark before the Paris Olympics and says the way his preparations are going it could happen anytime soonChopras best throw in competition came during the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League where he hurled the spear to a distance of 8994m While he has breached 90m in training he has yet to match it in competitionThe 26yearold who will be aiming to retain his Olympic gold in Paris said on Thursday I will try to breach the 90m mark before that Paris Olympics Hopefully it happens before Paris everything is going on smoothly so people might not have to wait till the Olympics it might happen before that The preparation is goodThe reigning world champions confidence stems from the fact that he has had a good off season where he focused on fitness and strength coupled with the success he has achieved after winning gold in 2020 TokyoDuring the start of the season the focus was on fitness and strength and no specific javelin training I think I got a lot of improvement in technique because of that Besides the strength and conditioning training in South Africa and Turkey has also gone well said Chopra during a virtual interaction from TurkeyChopra added that following the Tokyo Olympics success his selfconfidence had really gone up which will help him tremendously going into ParisAfter Tokyo the selfconfidence has definitely gone up Besides I have also played quite a few events two world championships a silver and a gold there won the Diamond League trophy made some good throws then retained the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou as well So the success between Tokyo and Paris has given me a lot of confidence that yes I can do it against strong competitors added ChopraMy mind tells me its the second Olympics so this time I am more mentally and physically prepared for Paris I have not done much as far as mental training goes but I know yes this is my second Olympics and that feel is thereChopra also said he had tried to overcome the shortcomings in his technique following the Tokyo successBefore Tokyo whatever shortcomings I had and during the years leading to Paris I have worked on them The best part is everything is going smoothly and I am very positiveAlso ReadMood is good says javelin star Neeraj Chopra as he eyes 90m highChopra will begin his competitive season with the Doha Diamond League Meeting on May 10 followed by the prestigious Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku Finland on June 18 where he will be up against 19yearold sensation Max Dehning of Germany the latest entrant in the 90m clubThey two tournaments are very crucial in the runup to Paris Olympics to get that competitive feel back after the offseason I will also decide in consultation with my coach and team which competitions to take part inDahlin has emerged as a strong competitor of late and the youngster is set to pose a big challenge to Chopra in the months to come following his 9020m throw recently But Chopra said he is relishing the prospect of meeting him in competitionWhen I competed in Tokyo and elsewhere most of my competitors came in boasting of 90plus throws So its not such a big deal What matters is what you do on that particular day I am excited to compete against Dahlin But it depends on the kind of pressure they competitors are able to handle That is the biggest challenge Im sure I will play a lot of matches with Max Dahlin Never played with him before It will be interesting I will enjoy He skipped the 80 metres completely From 70m he straightway came up with a throw of 90m It such a thing has has happened for the first time and I will enjoy his challenge said ChopraKishore Jena made waves when he won the silver medal with a throw of 8754m at the Hangzhou Asian Games making it a onetwo finish for the country at the continental showpiece And Chopra said he wouldnt be surprised if the 28yearold beats him to the 90m markThe way he has progressed in the world championships and the Asian Games who knows Kishore might breach the 90m mark before me 90m mark atka hua hai but kabhi na kabhi ho jayega That 90mmark has not come thus far but some day it will happenThe star athlete added that the Paris weather will not pose much of a challenge to him as it would be slightly on the warmer side though not as hot as TokyoParis will also be be somewhat hot I am used to it But when the weather is cold I have some problems Because in the time between throws you need to continuously do stretching sprinting and other things to to keep the body warmChopra however added that he is ready for any sort of challengePersonally I like warm weather But no matter the conditions we have to be prepared for that and keep ourselves mentally conditioned for that particular weather We cannot go into a competition with a preconceived mindset about the weather it will only harm the performanceWith agency inputs