Neeraj Chopra confident of good showing at Paris 2024 Olympics

NEW DELHI: With just months to go for the Paris 2024 Olympics, India's javelin ace Neeraj Chopra on Friday revealed that he is confident of producing another excellent performance on the grand stage when the world converges in the French capital later this year. "This is the best I have felt in a long time," Chopra, returning from his training base in Potchefstroom, South Africa, told SAI Media. "My training sessions have gone off well...but I must add that training and competition are not the same."

Since winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj Chopra has won silver medal at the 2022 World Championships and a gold medal at the following edition. He logged his personal best throw of 89.94m before winning the 2022 Diamond League title. He also defended his Asian Games crown last year. "All in all, I have been in great space and want to carry forward that momentum from May onwards," Chopra said.

Asked about the pressure of defending the title at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Chopra said the pressure will always be there but emphasised the need to maintain focus in such situations. "Managing pressure will be critical once you enter the Games Village and start focusing on your event. However, when you wear the India jersey, the feeling is different, the josh (passion) in us is unbelievable," Chopra pointed out.

Neeraj Chopra begins his training at the Gloria Sports Arena in Antalya, Turkey this week.He will be accompanied by his coach and biomechanics expert Dr Klaus Bartonietz and physio Ishaan Marwaha. Chopra was last seen in action at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China. He is yet to compete this season and is expected to return at the Doha leg of the 2024 Diamond League season in May.