August 17, 2024 04:38 PM IST
Neeraj Chopra confirmed his participation at the upcoming Lausanne Diamond League, and also spoke about his rivalry with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.
Having recently clinched silver at the Paris Olympics 2024, Neeraj Chopra confirmed his participation at the upcoming Lausanne Diamond League, scheduled later this month. Neeraj, who was the defending champion, lost his title to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.
Nadeem also scripted history, as he broke the men’s javelin throw Olympic record, with a throw of 92.97m.
Speaking during a press interaction, Neeraj confirmed his Lausanne participation. He said, “I never thought I couldn’t do it… Arshad Nadeem’s previous best was at 90.18 meters which he threw at the Commonwealth Games, and my previous best was 89.94 meters… I couldn’t push myself to my Extreme. Mentally I was retraining myself. My throw immediately after was extremely positive. “
“…I have finally decided to participate in the Lausanne Diamond League, which begins August 22,” he added.
Nadeem began with a first attempt of 91.79m, and then bagged 92.97m, which got him gold. In his sixth attempt, he got 91.79m. Meanwhile, Neeraj’s best throw was 89.45m, which he got in his second attempt. He struggled with four consecutive foul throws. His first and third throws were invalidated by the red lag and his final three ones were also fouls.
After his silver, he told Olympics.com, “”It was a good throw but I am not that happy with my performance today. My technique and runway was not that good. (I managed) only one throw, the rest I fouled. (For my) second throw I believed to think I can also throw that far. But in javelin, if your run is not so good, you cannot throw very far. The last two or three years were not so good for me. I am always injured. I really tried hard, but I have to work on my injury (staying injury-free) and technique.”
