World Championships Can be Tougher Than Olympics: Neeraj Chopra After Bagging Elusive GOLD
Budapest: Neeraj Chopra made the nation proud on Sunday as he bagged an elusive gold at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Following the comprehensive win, Chopra said that he cannot rest despite winning these medals. Claiming that it would be fun, he hoped that there will be more champions from India in the future.
“I still have a lot to achieve. It’s not as if I have won all these medals so I’ll rest easy. I want to repeat this success year after year. I also want more Indians to join me on the podium. That will be fun,” he said after becoming the first Indian to win a World Athletics Championships gold.
“I am a thrower and we throwers don’t have a finish line. So, I’ll keep going. Motivation has never been a problem for me. There is always room for improvement. My throwing can definitely get better. I wanted to give my all today too but the adductor strain was also playing on my mind,” he added.
“It feels nice to win all these medals. The competition at the World Championships can be tougher than the Olympics and you can’t take any competitor lightly. European throwers can come up with a winning throw anytime. As far as GOAT athlete is concerned, I don’t think I am there yet. I am not even the greatest in my sport, I think Jan Zelezny is the greatest javelin thrower of all time,” Chopra said further.
The 25-year-old Chopra had a foul to start with, but then got 88.17m, 86.32m, 84.64m, 87.73m and 83.98m. Pakistan’s reigning Commonwealth Games champion Arshad Nadeem took the silver with his season’s best throw of 87.82m, while Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic got the bronze.
Chopra has now become only the second Indian — after legendary shooter Abhinav Bindra — to simultaneously hold the Olympics and World Championships title. Bindra won the World Championships title when he was 23, and the Olympics gold at 25.
It was India’s third medal at the World Athletics Championships. Anju Bobby George won a bronze in 2003 and Neeraj Chopra won silver last year. With this gold, Neeraj Chopra had won gold medals in all competitions – Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Diamond League.