New Delhi: It was the barest margin of 1 cm or 0.01m that separated India’s Neeraj Chopra and Grenada’s Anderson Peters in claiming the Diamond League title at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium on Saturday (September 14). Neeraj’s best throw with the javelin was measured for 87.86m in the seven-men event, while the Grenadian was just ahead with 87.87m in his first throw of the night itself.
After the competition, Neeraj revealed that he participated in the event carrying a fractured left hand. The whole season has been alike for the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist with different injuries testing his disposition at different levels.
In an ideal situation, no athlete should participate in major events when they aren’t fully fit physically as well as mentally. ‘Grit and determination’ can be the jargons showered on Neeraj for his act on the field, but it doesn’t set a great template for the followers of the sport to emulate.
As the 2024 season ends, I look back on everything I’ve learned through the year – about improvement, setbacks, mentality and more.
On Monday, I injured myself in practice and x-rays showed that I had fractured the fourth metacarpal in my left hand. It was another painful… pic.twitter.com/H8nRkUkaNM
— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) September 15, 2024
Speaking solely about performance then Neeraj made amendments to his technique of throwing to avoid aggravation of his issue with the adductor strain. Even after going through the endurance this year, the thing that has been intact is Neeraj maintaining his top three-finish in all competitions since September 2018.
He can carry the confidence of thriving under immense pressure and look back at this year that was full of silver linings for him. When the Haryana-based athlete won the World Championship in Hungary last year, he had accounted for every major title linked with men’s javelin throw in his cabinet. It was then he was touted as the greatest of all time (GOAT) in Indian sports history.
The season that was for Neeraj Chopra
This year onwards it was repeating the feat with defending the Olympic gold and adding his second Diamond League title. He started the season with a 88.36m throw at the Doha Diamond League meet in May, finishing second after falling 0.02 metres short of Jakub Vadlejch’s 88.38m mark. The missing mark reduced to 0.01m on Saturday but the position remained the same – second.
One of the never seen things in Neeraj’s on-field throws was his aggression. An angry Neeraj was discovered after settling for a silver medal at the Paris Olympics at the Stade de France stadium. He was seemingly annoyed on missing the top podium finish but displayed his routine humbleness while congratulating Pakistani friend Arshad Nadeem for dethroning him in the French capital, and that too, by setting the Olympic record of 92.97m.
The 26-year-old Chopra had said that he will plan to address his adductor problems by consulting specialist doctors after the Paris Olympics. However, he quickly moved the focus towards the Diamond League, recording his season best throw (89.49m) in the Lausanne meet in August.
In the meantime, Neeraj also had two top first-place events in the build up to his preparations for the Paris Games. He returned to India’s domestic circuit three years after hogging the global limelight in Tokyo. He clinched gold medal at the Federation Cup with a below-par throw of 82.27m and then topped the charts at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland with a distance of 85.97m.
The daunting challenge of 90m throw wasn’t accomplished this season but to look in the brighter side, the Olympic and World champion crossed 89m three times. In fact, three of his top five javelin throws were recorded in the last 45 days (since the start of Paris Olympics).
Neeraj has contemplated to return next season with complete fitness, though he rued of not being able to match his expectations. The ultimate focus must be on recovery and once its done then his best is not faraway from getting unfold. (Don’t confuse the best with the 90m query).
The year 2024 for Neeraj Chopra was repeating the feat of achieving the majors he already has accounted for. The path saw him finish second in four competitions, including the Paris Olympics 2024 spectacle. It was a year about improvement, setbacks, mentality and more, as the elite athlete himself admits. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
