NEW DELHI: Neeraj Chopraat Olympic gold medalhas a unique ability to stay focused on the present and maintain an incredible level of consistency in the javelin throw, according to Adille Sumariwallaat Athletics Federation of India the person who leads. These qualities set him apart from other javelin throwers around the world.
Despite the recent speculations about Neeraj being disturbed by an nickel adductor while preparing to defend the gold medal in the future Paris OlympicsSumariwalla remains confident in the condition of the champion athlete. He has been in regular communication with coach Neeraj, who has assured him that the javelin star is in optimal shape for the competition.
“Neeraj is a person who lives in the moment. Others think about the past, the future but Neeraj lives in the present. That is why he is so successful. He knows ‘I have to do this’. Whenever you ask him. throw, he will always do it 88-89 meters; that is his consistency earned him all the victories,” PTI quoted Sumariwalla as saying on the sidelines of a promotional event on Thursday.
Neeraj’s gold throw at the Tokyo Olympics was 87.58m, although his international best was 89.94m, which he achieved during the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden.
Despite not crossing the 90m threshold, Sumariwalla dismissed the notion that athletes who consistently throw more than 90m ahead of the Olympics are guaranteed to medal in the high-pressure environment of the Olympics.
“Last Olympics, three people had a throw of 90m-plus, Neeraj won in 88m (87.58), Before the World Championships (2023 Budapest), there were three people who threw 90-plus, Neeraj won in 89 (88.17m).
“Before the Asian Games in Hangzhou, there was one person who threw more than 90, Neeraj won the gold. So, on that day what happened could have been very different. Someone had crossed 90m and Neeraj had never crossed 90m, but he won every time ,” said Sumariwalla.
About Neeraj’s fitness as the winner of the second gold in a row in Paris, Sumariwalla said, “I speak to his coach every three days and he claims he is fit, so I have to listen to what his coach and physio say. The coach says he has fit and ready to go.”
The AFI chief dodged questions about shooter Abha Khatua, whose name was not on the list of Indian athletes going to Paris. The reason for his exclusion remains unclear, with no clear explanation.
Khatua left for Spala, Turkiye, on July 11, with his friends. Spala is the training base for Indian track and field athletes preparing for the Olympics.
However, only days later, when World Athletics released the official list of Olympic participants in track and field events, Khatua’s name was not clear.
So far, there has been no official statement clarifying whether Khatua’s negligence was due to an injury, a doping rule violation, or some other technical issue. The silence of his absence left many unanswered questions.
“There is no issue about Abha Khatua and I will not talk about it,” said Sumariwalla, while adding that 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable could be a medal contender in Paris.
“Sable has run under 8 minutes, 10 seconds. There was a world championship won in 8:20. Now, what I said about the time. The last World Championship in Oregon (2022), the winning time was 8:20, the slowest in history, Avinash can also win, it is very difficult to predict,” he said.
The AFI chief suggested that domestic coaches did not support the idea of bringing in international experts to improve the performance of Indian athletes.
“When we started bringing in foreign coaches some 10 years ago… in the jump we brought in three foreign coaches. Our coaches tried to get rid of them, so that we (national coaches) would be seen. This politics is also there (in Indian athletics). Today’s coaches, they also crying … he himself is an Olympic medal winner.
Despite the recent speculations about Neeraj being disturbed by an nickel adductor while preparing to defend the gold medal in the future Paris OlympicsSumariwalla remains confident in the condition of the champion athlete. He has been in regular communication with coach Neeraj, who has assured him that the javelin star is in optimal shape for the competition.
“Neeraj is a person who lives in the moment. Others think about the past, the future but Neeraj lives in the present. That is why he is so successful. He knows ‘I have to do this’. Whenever you ask him. throw, he will always do it 88-89 meters; that is his consistency earned him all the victories,” PTI quoted Sumariwalla as saying on the sidelines of a promotional event on Thursday.
Neeraj’s gold throw at the Tokyo Olympics was 87.58m, although his international best was 89.94m, which he achieved during the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden.
Despite not crossing the 90m threshold, Sumariwalla dismissed the notion that athletes who consistently throw more than 90m ahead of the Olympics are guaranteed to medal in the high-pressure environment of the Olympics.
“Last Olympics, three people had a throw of 90m-plus, Neeraj won in 88m (87.58), Before the World Championships (2023 Budapest), there were three people who threw 90-plus, Neeraj won in 89 (88.17m).
“Before the Asian Games in Hangzhou, there was one person who threw more than 90, Neeraj won the gold. So, on that day what happened could have been very different. Someone had crossed 90m and Neeraj had never crossed 90m, but he won every time ,” said Sumariwalla.
About Neeraj’s fitness as the winner of the second gold in a row in Paris, Sumariwalla said, “I speak to his coach every three days and he claims he is fit, so I have to listen to what his coach and physio say. The coach says he has fit and ready to go.”
The AFI chief dodged questions about shooter Abha Khatua, whose name was not on the list of Indian athletes going to Paris. The reason for his exclusion remains unclear, with no clear explanation.
Khatua left for Spala, Turkiye, on July 11, with his friends. Spala is the training base for Indian track and field athletes preparing for the Olympics.
However, only days later, when World Athletics released the official list of Olympic participants in track and field events, Khatua’s name was not clear.
So far, there has been no official statement clarifying whether Khatua’s negligence was due to an injury, a doping rule violation, or some other technical issue. The silence of his absence left many unanswered questions.
“There is no issue about Abha Khatua and I will not talk about it,” said Sumariwalla, while adding that 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable could be a medal contender in Paris.
“Sable has run under 8 minutes, 10 seconds. There was a world championship won in 8:20. Now, what I said about the time. The last World Championship in Oregon (2022), the winning time was 8:20, the slowest in history, Avinash can also win, it is very difficult to predict,” he said.
The AFI chief suggested that domestic coaches did not support the idea of bringing in international experts to improve the performance of Indian athletes.
“When we started bringing in foreign coaches some 10 years ago… in the jump we brought in three foreign coaches. Our coaches tried to get rid of them, so that we (national coaches) would be seen. This politics is also there (in Indian athletics). Today’s coaches, they also crying … he himself is an Olympic medal winner.