Bhubaneshwar 2017. Eugene 2022. Lausanne 2023. Add Zurich 2023 to the list of the events where Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra had to dig deep to find his best throw in the competition.
While ‘one and done’ is what has come to define his incredible consistency, perhaps it is time to coin a phrase for what Chopra does at the fag end of his six attempts. ‘Blast at the last’, maybe? While the jury may be out to dwell on the ingenuity of that phrase, what is beyond doubt post Chopra’s second-place finish at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday night is the fact that the double Worlds medallist has enough experience, confidence, and expertise to pull out a big throw when the mind and body are under the pump.
Chopra strode into the Letzigrund Stadium on a high after becoming India’s only athletics world champion, a title he won just days before lining up in the elite field. An uncharacteristically modest opening throw of 80.79m was followed by a brace of fouls, pushing the 25-year-old to the fifth spot. It was the first occasion since last year’s World Championships final in Eugene when the Indian was outside the top three halfway into the competition.
Competing just four days after the gruelling World Championships final, the throwers — eight of the 12 participants were part of the Budapest final — were understandably reluctant to go all out. Chopra was conscious of his strained adductor muscle and admitted that his only motivation to appear in the Zurich event was to “enjoy the competition.”
“There is the Eugene Diamond League final and the Asian Games coming up and we were competing within a few days after the high-pressure World Championships. I had not recovered fully so I was not sure of giving my 100 percent. It is important to prioritise some competitions over others and I felt it was important to not risk an injury,” Chopra said in a media interaction on Friday.
That meant he saw Jakub Vadlejch, his tenacious Czech rival gallop to the top while Julian Weber, the German thrower who finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics as well as in Budapest, jumped to the second spot. Languishing at the fifth spot, Chopra, perhaps for the first time in years, felt he would finish outside the top eight.
“At that point, I wondered whether I would even stay in the top eight. That’s when I decided to push myself a little and got a couple of 85m-plus throws,” Chopra said.
He roared back to life with a fourth effort of 85.22m, the high-quality series also witnessing Vadlejch and Weber coming up with their best efforts of the competition thus far.
“I believe in myself. I am confident that even if I have to throw my personal best on my last attempt, I will do it,” he had said in the pre-event press conference. In the Budapest final where he was challenged by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, he remained calm, knowing fully well that he can will his body to summon a winning throw almost on demand.
“It all comes down to training. I am a big believer in training. It gives me the confidence that I can push myself till the final throw,” he had said.
He walked the talk in Zurich. Saving his best for the last, Chopra unleashed an 85.71m throw on his last effort, securing a second-place finish on a chilly night behind Vadlejch’s 85.86m.
The result, however, ended Chopra’s winning streak this year — his Zurich outing was preceded by top finishes in Doha and Lausanne editions of the Diamond League before he scooped gold at the Worlds. A finish outside the top three would have been Chopra’s first real ‘failure’ since May 2018 when he finished fourth at the Doha Diamond League — a staggering domination worthy of the titles he keeps racking up.
It was also the first time since the Asian Championships in July 2017 that Chopra had to wait for his last attempt to throw his best en route the gold. Then, still a greenhorn and only a year since becoming the junior world champion, Chopra threw 85.23m to win the title. Six years and a lifetime of accolades later, he showed he hasn’t forgotten the trick.
“To be honest, I am not happy with my distances this year. Last year, I logged quite a few 89m throws but so far, I am throwing around 88m. I hope to set that right soon,” he said, indicating the much-awaited 90m throw is still very much on his radar.
Chopra would now take a few days off training to recover before getting back to business. Eugene final will be followed by the Asian Games where he will look to defend his title and end another season on a high.
