Neeraj Chopra on 90m mark: 'My target is to push my throw even further' ahead of CWG 2026
Neeraj Chopra Photograph: (AFP)
India's ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra returns to Commonwealth Games aiming to give his 100% instead of chasing targets as he eyes another javelin gold for India
Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra is set to return to the Commonwealth Games 2026 after missing the 2022 edition due to injury. The Olympic and world champion, who claimed gold at the Gold Coast 2018 Games, is aiming to deliver his best performance rather than chase any specific distance when he competes in Glasgow. Neeraj was forced to withdraw from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games because of an injury, preventing him from defending his title. Ahead of his return, the 28-year-old said his focus remains on giving his maximum effort regardless of the conditions.
"There is no specific target as such. The only thought in mind is that whenever you compete, try to give your absolute best and put in 100 percent on the day so that there are no regrets later. During the competition, the goal will simply be to give my best according to whatever the conditions turn out to be," Neeraj told reporters on Sunday. He reiterated that representing India remains his biggest motivation. "Whenever I represent my country, it automatically becomes important to me. Since I have come here to compete for India, I will give my 100 percent. How things turn out will be known on the day of the event, but I always give 100 percent whenever I represent my country, and that is the same target here. Our other athletes are also well-prepared. There are two javelin throwers, Rohit has come in after making a very good throw, so we will try to deliver a good performance together," he further added.
Neeraj endured a lower back problem ahead of the World Athletics Championships last year, where he finished eighth. His only appearance this season came at the Doha Diamond League in June, where he secured fourth place with a best throw of 85.69m.
The Indian ace revealed that he has addressed the shortcomings from that competition and is now feeling physically stronger.
"Right now, I am feeling quite fine. Doha was my first competition after the Tokyo World Championships. I had a good throw there, and after that, we worked on the areas where I fell short and focused on my fitness. So now, I am better," he said.
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Having crossed the coveted 90m mark in his career, Neeraj was asked whether there is added pressure to consistently achieve the milestone. He stressed that his priority is continuous improvement while maintaining consistency against the world's best. “It isn't pressure as such, but as an athlete, it is always in my mind to keep increasing my distance. That is constantly on my mind. When you are competing in major games, the biggest challenge is to win a medal or a gold among the world's best athletes. Distance is important to me, and I want to keep pushing it further.”
“However, amid that target, I feel that when you face such conditions where all top athletes are competing together, huge distances don't always come out. In those situations, you have to maintain your consistency. So what stays in my mind is to maintain my consistency and keep trying to gradually improve. So yes, definitely, my target is to push my throw even further,” the javelin thrower added.
The men's javelin qualification event is scheduled for July 30 at Scotstoun Stadium, with the final set to take place on July 31. Neeraj's challenge to reclaim the Commonwealth Games gold medal will be a tough one, with reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, Sri Lanka's world leader Rumesh Pathirage, Grenada's two-time world champion Anderson Peters, and Trinidad and Tobago's reigning world and former Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott among the leading contenders.
