‘This is the best I’ve felt in a long time,’ says Neeraj Chopra ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris

Javelin star Neeraj Chopra will start the outdoor season from May. He flies to Turkey on Friday evening.

Neeraj Chopra defends men’s javelin throw champion at the Olympic Games.

New Delhi: World javelin thrower and Tokyo Olympian Neeraj Chopra said pressure will be inevitable if he is to defend his title at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Saying that training and competition are like chalk and cheese, Chopra said during a short break after his training in South Africa: “Managing the pressure will be inevitable once you enter the Games Village and start focusing on your event.”

Chopra, who will train in Turkey from this week before his first return to outdoor competition in 2024, said he was in “great physical condition” and “has never felt better.” The run-up to Tokyo 2020 was a challenge for 26-year-old Chopra, who had missed an entire season due to injuries.

“I want to be in the best possible shape before Paris. My training has gone very well so far. I always emphasize fitness, along with strength and technique. This is the best I have felt in a long time, but I must add that training and competition are not the same. When you wear the India jersey, the feeling is different, the joy within us is incredible,” Chopra told the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Chopra said the years after Tokyo 2020 were “very different” and his performances showed his preparation for global tournaments was going well. “I won medals at two world championships, set my personal best (89.94 meters in Stockholm), won a dream Diamond League title and even defended my gold at the Asian Games.

“Overall, I had a great time and I want to continue that momentum starting in May,” said Chopra. He feels his ‘best is yet to come’. “I have only felt my best once before, at the World Junior Championships in 2016. But after that I think things can be better and I am still not satisfied. I am working hard and let’s see where I end up,” the javelin superstar said.

Does he think the elusive 90 meters is a magic number?

Chopra reiterated that “distance didn’t matter to him.” “What’s important to me is staying 100% fit, being consistent throughout the season and performing on the day that matters. I think there are mistakes that need to be fixed and when you look at the increasing competition all around you, you have to keep improving. The road closes when you think you’ve done everything,” said Chopra, adding that German youngster Max Dehning’s 90.20 meter effort recently at a German winter race “didn’t add any pressure” but merely indicated that the level of competition will be high this year. stiff again.