The first Indian to win a track and field gold at the Olympics, Neeraj Chopra followed-up his success in 2021 with another stellar season this year as he bagged medals at the two big international events - the World Championships and the Diamond League finale. Podium finishes at the two events were also firsts for India once again as Neeraj became the first Indian to win a silver at the Athletics' Worlds, and the first to win the prestigious season-ending Diamond League title.
'My team and I are all satisfied with my performance this year,' Neeraj told The Quint while talking about his season.
While the athletics season had started much earlier in the year, Neeraj had paced and planned his comeback after returning to training only by December, following the celebrations of his Tokyo success. Asked about making his season debut in June, Neeraj said - 'I could have started my season earlier but to carry that form and fitness so deep into the season would have been tough. We had a plan and it worked for us. If I was in a position to start earlier also, I may have, but I started training quite late so I needed time.'
World Athletics Championship: Neeraj Chopra was India's solitary medallist, bagging a silver in men's javelin throw
(Photo: PTI)
With the entire nation wanting to celebrate Neeraj's success in Tokyo, the javelin star has spoken often about having to spend time away from training and also the weight he gained in the process. In an earlier interview with The Quint, he shared how losing the added weight initially was a major part of his regime, when he moved base to America to start training again in December.
This time round, with learnings from last year's off-season as well, Neeraj said he knows the areas he has to focus on in the coming months.
'Training is important, but I will have to watch my food also. Last time, I returned from Tokyo on 7 August, this time I last competed on 8 September. I then travelled also, so there hasn't been much rest and now that I'm home, I've continued my training. I am controlling my diet, and we will start training early as well. We've definitely learned lessons from last time - won't be taking such a long break, and self control will be important,' Neeraj said.
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