Neeraj Chopra: ‘Very happy after Doha, no more 90m questions'

Neeraj Chopra has revealed his relief at being rid of the 90m questions that dogged him at every press conference since he won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Since the Tokyo Games, where he became the country's second individual gold medal winner at an Olympics, Neeraj has gone on to win plenty of accolades, including a silver at Paris Olympics last year and a gold and silver medals at the World Athletics Championships. But the 90m distance eluded him, with his best throw being just six centimetres short of the elusive threshold in javelin. That changed at the Doha Diamond League meet where he breached the 90m mark for the first time.
But that Doha event was a mixed one for Neeraj as he had ended second behind Germany's Julian Weber, who also threw over the 90m mark for the first time in his career. Then at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial event too, Neeraj had ended behind Weber.
At the Paris Diamond League meet on Friday evening, Neeraj finally defeated Weber. While talking to American media group Flo Track after the win, Neeraj was congratulated by the panellists on entering the 90m club earlier this year at Doha Diamond League.
To this, Neeraj responded: 'I'm happy because before throwing 90m, (I used to get) lots of questions about it. Every interview, everyone asked me, 'when will you throw 90m?' So I'm very happy that one question is not there more. So I'm very happy with the throw. Hope I will throw much further than 90 metres.'
Neeraj revealed that he will compete after at the Ostrava event on June 24. Javelin legend Jan Zelezny, who is the director of the Ostrava meet, has been working as Neeraj's coach. Neeraj called it 'one of the greatest competitions in track and field'.
Talking about the Paris event, a 'tired' Neeraj said he was happy to win: 'It was a very good start. I felt really good at the start. But I had too much speed today. The runway was perfect, but I couldn't handle my speed today. So I need to do some more work for my last attack. It was a really good run up. I'm happy with the run-up and also the throw itself. The start was good but I was hoping for some more good throws. I'm happy to win here.'
On being asked about his widespread popularity in track and field, Neeraj said: 'I feel really good because in track and field you can say like I am famous from India. But you know about cricket, how big cricket is in India. I'm very happy to represent my country in track and field and I'm proud that some other junior athletes are also coming. Maybe in few years they will throw far and (also do well in) some other events in track and field. So I'm very happy that not only me, but also some other junior athletes are also coming up from India.'
Neeraj was also asked if being a great javelin thrower also made him a good cricket bowler since the delivery actions were similar.
'I have never tried because in cricket we have to throw the ball down. But in javelin (we throw up). But definitely I will try baseball, throw some pitches when I will be in USA. After Tokyo (winning Olympics gold in 2021) I was in Chula Vista for three months training. Maybe, next time when I come to USA, I will try baseball.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

India Today

an hour ago

• India Today

Manpreet Singh hits 400: A testament to unyielding grit

For long, Manpreet Singh, that ball of zest and fiery energy in the Indian midfield, has confounded opponents across the globe; pivot in the middle, the side tackling, stick outstretched, terrier in the defence and when in that mood, he's a blur, zipping past the opposition defences, slipping to the right before slamming the ball past the startled, rather astonished the Pro League game against Australia in Antwerp, which India lost 2-3, match No. 400 was up for Manpreet. A win would have been ideal. Yet, Manpreet, the Mithapur Kid, at 400 games and counting, has outlasted many of his contemporaries. Irrespective of the talent, the grind through junior levels, and the yo-yo nature of Indian hockey, this longevity stems from consistency and resolve. Four hundred international matches suggest he may well touch five hundred, a milestone in modern hockey.I've known Manpreet since his early days in junior hockey — back then, he wasn't someone who immediately stood out. Some players are groomed and moulded; Manpreet shaped his own career, becoming central to Indian hockey. The fire within a player — whether it's about performing in matches or sustaining a long career — must be stoked by the player himself. Plenty of talent has fallen by the wayside or faded away for all kinds of reasons. But the one thing most of them lacked was that old, reliable trait: Last June, at the Dartmouth College commencement ceremony, Roger Federer said: 'It's not about having a gift. It's about having grit.'Players often chase numbers, yet when Manpreet says, 'It's just a number,' you believe him. In a conversation three years back, at The Kalinga Stadium, while the team prepared for the World Cup, I had asked him, if he became captain at Paris 2024, he would be the only one after Pargat Singh to captain India at two consecutive Olympics, both come from the same village Mithapur, near Jalandhar and Paris would put him in a rare group of Indian players to have played four consecutive Olympic Games. His response was brief: 'It doesn't matter.' Then, he added, 'It's important that I play well. I enjoy the sport. It's not about how much you play, but how much you win. Look at the Aussies — fewer games, more medals.'Manpreet's approach reflects that of top athletes. Bill Bertka, a former Lakers assistant coach, once said of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James: 'They're both intelligent and dedicated.' Abdul-Jabbar played till 42. LeBron, this year, at age 40, could set a 23-season record. If Manpreet makes it to the 2028 LA Olympics, it would be a fifth appearance — a record for Indian hockey once struggled with motivation, especially when results at the Olympics and World Cup fell short. Careers often ended due to selectors' fixation with age. The Tokyo 2020 bronze ended a 41-year Olympic medal drought. It re-energised Manpreet. He lost the captaincy but redefined his role. The Tokyo success freed him. Fitness and mindset evolved. The only Indian with more caps than him is current Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey (412). Among internationals, Belgium's World and Olympic Champion midfielder, John-John Dohmen leads with India not medalled in Tokyo; selectors may have phased out seniors, also called 'ageing legs.' Manpreet acknowledges that 400 is a significant milestone: 'It's a moment to be proud of, but this is a team's achievement. Each player has contributed.'He has slipped into the robes of a sage smoothly. From finishing last at the London 2012 Olympics to leading the junior team in 2013 and winning gold at Incheon 2014, the arc has been gradual. The Champions Trophy final appearance in 2016 and again in 2018, followed by a podium at Tokyo, showed the team's evolution. Working with coaches like Oltmans, Walsh, Reid, and now Fulton, Manpreet learned how to close the gap between performance and 32, Manpreet says his reading of the game is sharper, and he's more self-critical. 'I admit my mistakes,' he the still somewhat chaotic battle that Indian hockey gets entangled during particular quarters where space dries up and whatever you did on the board doesn't translate onto the pitch, Manpreet, is straining at the leash, breaking forth, slapping the ball ahead, switching the team into an offensive transition and popping up on the top of the circle to receive and take a shot. In seconds, he has broken a high-pressure moment with his speed and India President Dilip Tirkey calls Manpreet's 400th game a testament to 'dedication and commitment.' Tirkey believes the team's composure today comes from players like Manpreet — players who understand and manage situations 2026 World Cup will mark 50 years since India's last world title. That podium finish is still elusive. Manpreet doesn't dwell on it but knows its importance. 'It's not enough to just play well at the World Cup,' he says. 'Only a podium finish can ease the pain, end the wait.'advertisementBefore that, the Asia Cup in September looms. 'We need to qualify for the World Cup. That's the target. I just must keep fit, and we'll do it.'Motivation isn't measured by appearances. For Manpreet, it's his family — wife Illi Saddique and mother — who provide grounding and honest feedback. 'My wife especially is my sounding board. She doesn't hesitate to point out what could be better.'Anything is possible in modern sport. From teams that propel themselves into winning positions after being locked down to players who change a team's complexion. In a sport where teams are made up of various inter-locking parts, Manpreet, as an individual, one of the parts, makes it fun, the range of possibilities expanding when he is on the a sport built around teamwork, Manpreet remains one of those parts that enhances the whole. Four hundred-plus may just be another number — but the contribution behind it, isn' Watch

Hindustan Times

2 hours ago

• Hindustan Times

Stroke of genius: Kunal Pradhan on tennis's Lorenzo Musetti and the beauty of the backhand

Lorenzo Musetti, 23, of Tuscany, Italy, lasted three-and-a-half sets against Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final of the French Open, before pulling up with cramps. Musetti plays against Carlos Alcaraz at this year's French Open. (Reuters) For about 120 of the 145 minutes they spent on court, Musetti gave the champion a run for his money. It was perhaps inevitable that the Italian would lose; he hadn't beaten the Spaniard in any of their last five meetings. Still, this was more than just another semi-final loss in the annual cycle of Grand Slam tournaments. For many, it was personal. Musetti, ranked No. 7, is the best single-handed backhand player in the world today. The leader of a dying breed of men and women who have been sidelined by sports science — the one-handed backhand return is deemed too weak, with the evolution of carbon-fibre racquets, nylon strings and vibration dampeners that offer greater power and control — but who still press on with it. Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas are the others in the top 30 who have a single-handed backhand. But only eight men in the top 100 employ the most elegant stroke in tennis . On the women's tour, there are none in the top 70, and only three in the top 100. These are the impractical, romantic madcaps who persevere no matter how many coaches and pundits tell them to switch. For them, there is pride in playing the shot. The fluid arc as the single-handed backhand falls into a slice or rises into a topspin for a flourishing follow-through is the kind of poetry in motion nothing else in tennis can ever be. These are professional players who want to win, but this is a stroke that defines their love of the game — a nod, if you will, to Don Budge, Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Justine Henin and Roger Federer — and without it, there would be no point at all. Poetry in motion: Stefanos Tsitsipas at the French Open in 2021. (Getty Images) Talking about a revolution The problem with the single-handed backhand, Navratilova said in 2016, is that it practically takes a genius to hit one. Navratilova, who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, used a single-handed backhand — not the most elegant avatar of the stroke, but an efficient mix of slices and top spins that set up one of the most aggressive serve-and-volley games in history. What Navratilova said nine years ago is particularly important since she had a view from across the net of what would turn out to be perhaps the most important innovation in sport since Dick Fosbury's flop in the 1968 Mexico Olympics changed the high-jump forever. Here's a short summary of what happened. In 1954, Chris Evert, Navratilova's great rival, was born into a tennis family in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her father, Jimmy Evert, was a professional coach. Chris was five when she first stepped on court, and when Jimmy realised she couldn't generate enough power on her backhand side, he encouraged her to try using both hands — a temporary retrieval plan for a young girl, borrowed from the Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich, who used it in the 1930s. Chris found that the stroke worked perfectly. The repeat motion, with a use of the stronger right hand for support, was a bit like hitting a forehand from the other side. So what if it compromised on reach; she could compensate for that with greater fitness. And so what if it didn't look that great; it got the job done. When Evert started climbing the ranks — as a 14-year-old who made the semi-final of a senior event, a 15-year-old who defeated World No. 1 Margaret Court, a 16-year-old invited to the US Open, and a 19-year-old double Grand Slam champion — the world started to take note of this odd double-handed system that relied on supreme fitness and hanging back at the baseline to offer greater consistency and power. Over the next decade, while Evert and Navratilova were locked in a battle of philosophies in women's tennis, it helped the double-handed cause that Jimmy Connors burst on the men's side with a similar stroke that was encouraged by his mother Gloria Connors. And it helped that Bjorn Borg emerged with an even stranger double-handed style that had a straighter backswing, inspired by his early days as a hockey player. And so, the revolution — albeit not a pretty one — was being televised. A parting shot It took a couple of decades from the Evert-Connors era for the balance to shift. Great champions such as Sampras and Federer on the men's side and Graf and Henin on the women's side concealed the fact that change was truly upon us, until we woke up one morning in today's sports-tech-ruled world. A world in which Musetti, Dimitrov and Tsitsipas, with zero Grand Slam titles between them, are the last samurais fighting for a stroke in danger of being lost in time. A stroke that, as Navratilova said, now requires a genius to play it. But therein lies the hope that it's not all over; that someone will rise to not just celebrate the shot but also triumph with it. For what is sport without a dash of genius?

Hindustan Times

3 hours ago

• Hindustan Times

NBA powerhouse Kevin Durant buys minority stake in 2025 Champions League-winning club Paris Saint-Germain

NBA powerhouse Kevin Durant, who plays for the Phoenix Suns, has bought a minority stake in the 2025 Champions League-winning club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The Ligue 1 club confirmed the development through a social media post. Qatar Sports Investment, which is the majority shareholder of PSG, have signed an investment and strategic partnership agreement with Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant has bought a minority stake in Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. (AP) However, the financial terms of the deal have not been put in the public domain. 'Kevin Durant, NBA superstar and global entrepreneur through Boardroom Sports Holdings, is investing in Paris Saint-Germain in partnership with Qatar Sports Investments. This strategic collaboration spans commercial ventures, investment opportunities, and content production initiatives,' Paris Saint-Germain said in a social media post. Kevin Durant happens to be a two-time NBA champion and one of the league's most talked-about shot makers. Durant is also the first four-time men's gold medallist in Olympic basketball history. He achieved the feat when the US took gold at last year's Paris Olympics. Speaking about buying a stake in PSG, Kevin Durant said in an official statement, 'It is an honour to partner with QSI and be a shareholder in Paris Saint-Germain—a club and city that is deeply close to my heart.' 'This club has big plans and I look forward to being part of the next phase of growth and exploring new investment opportunities with QSI,' he added. This is not the first time that Kevin Durant has made a sporting investment. In 2020, he acquired a five per cent stake in the Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union. "Together with Kevin, we look forward to developing ambitious initiatives that will drive the continued global growth of Paris Saint-Germain and QSI," PSG president Nasser Al Khelaïfi said in an official release. According to ESPN, as a part of this deal, Durant's personal investment vehicle - Boardroom Sports Holdings and QSI will collaborate on a wide range of commercial, investment and content production initiatives.