Neeraj Chopra on World Championships silver: 'Happy to have won it, I will take it'

Tokyo Olympics gold-medalist Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra produced a remarkable comeback to win the silver medal during the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, United States of America (USA), on Sunday. He landed his spear 88.13 metres, which happens to be his fourth career-best, jumping to second place and finishing behind Anderson Peters of Granada, who won the gold. His opening attempt was a foul, followed by 82.39 metres and 86.37 metres in the following two. Although the conditions happened to be "challenging" ones, Chopra was confident of coming up with a good throw and was content with the silver medal, India's first in the tournament in 19 years.

"Conditions were challenging. There was wind coming from the front. It was a tough competition with very tough competitors. It was challenging, but I was confident that a good throw would surely come. I was making an effort [in the opening three throws], but it [big throw] was not coming," Chopra was quoted as saying during the post-event virtual press conference.

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"It was challenging but good that I made a comeback. I am happy to have won silver, the country's first medal in World Athletics Championships, after 19 years. I will take it," added the 24-year-old Chopra. He felt some tightness on his thigh following the fourth throw and struggled to do well in the final two throws, which turned out to be fouled.

"I thought even the fourth throw could have gone farther. After that, I felt something on my thigh and could not do my best in the next two. I had strapping [on thigh]. I will know the status tomorrow morning because my body is still warm after the event. I hope there should not be an issue for the upcoming Commonwealth Games [CWG]," Chopra affirmed.

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The Indian fans have been accustomed to watching Chopra go for the big throws in the opening two rounds. However, this was a different scenario in the World Championships final. Chopra had won gold in Tokyo last year with a second-round throw of 87.58 metres, while his first-round effort of 88.39 metres was enough to qualify for the finals at second place in this World Championships.

Chopra's trademark smile appeared after the fourth round as he made the 'calm-down' gesture and directed the victory sign through his right hand. Last year, he won the maiden gold for Indian athletics during the Tokyo Olympics. He is only the second Indian to win individual gold in the Olympics, after shooter Abhinav Bindra, who bagged it during the 2008 Beijing Games.

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When asked if he felt the pressure of being an Olympic champion heading into the World Championships finals, Chopra clarified, "I never felt that kind of pressure. My focus was always to give my best and improve upon my best. Of course, I was in a challenging position [after the third round], but I was confident that I would have a good throw somehow. I kept trying, and it came."

"An athlete cannot win a gold every time, but we must keep trying and give our best. I have learned a lot from the challenging situation today, and I will work for improvement. I will try to change the colour of the medal [to gold] in the next World Championships in 2023 [in Budapest]," concluded Chopra.