Raising the bar: Neeraj Chopra insists there is no let-up in his hunger for improvement despite the impressive list of achievements.
| Photo Credit: AFP
With the Doha Diamond League just three weeks away, Neeraj Chopra is confident of a good beginning to what will be a longer-than-usual season.
With the postponed Asian Games scheduled for September-October, the Olympic gold medallist is focusing not just on improving his performances but also staying injury free.
“The best part of my training so far has been staying injury-free and am hoping to continue that and have a healthy season. Our focus will be on the main events — World Championships and the Asian Games — and for the rest, including the Diamond Leagues, we will plan with the coach to pick and decide participation, balancing competition, recovery and training,” Neeraj said in an interaction on Sunday.
Interactions with coach
Training currently at the Gloria Sports Arena in Antalya (Turkey) with long-time coach Klaus Bartoniez, Neeraj said it was important for an athlete to have trust and confidence with his coach to achieve any success.
“I think that an athlete should also be aware of his own body and training suitability and must be able to talk to his coach openly. Any training decision should be consultative, not blindly one-sided, dictated by the coach. In an individual sport, once you enter competition, you cannot go to the coach for every thing. There are times when the coach has made a training plan but I feel I should do something else and give my opinion. We discuss our training schedule daily and if needed we decide to modify accordingly. That understanding, honesty and clarity is very important,” he insisted.
For someone who has won almost every major title on offer, Neeraj insisted the hunger to keep getting better was as big as ever.
“I know there will be more pressure and expectations at the next Olympics. Yes, if you talk of medals then almost all the main titles have been ticked — it would be nice to turn the silver at the last World Championships into gold, though — but there is no deadline to it. Honestly, every event is a new occasion for me, I enjoy the sport and I experience a new feeling at every competition so there is no lack of motivation,” he shrugged.
Listening to the body
And while he is keen to improve on the 2022 Worlds silver, Neeraj is also aware of the lessons learnt.
“I knew after the fourth throw that something was off and I knew I should have stopped. I had spoken to the coach and physio also. But in that moment, when you want to do your best for the country and be on top all the time, it is difficult to stop and it resulted in injury. It is difficult, but that is something I hope to be able to do going forward — listen to the body and not force yourself,” he said.
