The men's javelin throw qualification round, scheduled for August 25, gives Neeraj Chopra a lot of time for his preparations.
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Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic champion in the men’s javelin throw, is gearing up to participate directly in the World Athletics Championships 2023, Budapest, set to commence on August 19 to August 27, 2023. The 25-year-old athlete from India recently bounced back from an injury break of one month and secured his second Diamond League title in a row in Switzerland with a notable 87.66m throw. Earlier, in his 2023 season opener, he had also clinched a victory at the Doha Diamond League 2023 meeting with an 88.67m, marking a great beginning to the season.
After his win in Lausanne, Neeraj Chopra indicated that his attention is now primarily on the coming World Athletics Championships 2023 to be staged in Budapest, Hungary. He stated, “The next competition, Budapest, will be a big one for me.” He also mentioned his intention to fine-tune his techniques in training, which he believes will make him stronger. Chopra also affectionately mentioned Lausanne as his ‘lucky city,’ since he grabbed consecutive victories in the city over the past two years. In the year 2022, the Haryana-born athlete was the ultimate winner of the prestigious Diamond League 2022 after clinching victory in Zurich, Switzerland, last year with a throw of 88.44m.
Chopra’s coach, Dr. Klaus Bartonietz, confirmed to the Press Trust of India (PTI) his student’s intent to take part in the World Athletics Championships 2023 as his next event. The men’s javelin throw qualification round, scheduled for August 25, gives Neeraj Chopra a lot of time for his preparations. Neeraj will now be stepping into the World Championships having competed in just two high-profile meets this year—the Doha and Lausanne legs of the Diamond League 2023 series.
A top-level official from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), in an interview, verified that Chopra has fully recovered from the muscle strain that made him miss three significant events in the previous month. In a statement, he said, “He is fully fit. I think he will not compete (before the World Championships). Maybe he wants to concentrate more on World Championships.”
The first Olympic champion in track and field for India, Chopra, who had clinched a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships 2022 at the Hayward Field in Eugene, USA, finishing behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters, will be aiming for his first gold medal in the championships this time around. Despite his non-participation in the Monaco leg of the Diamond League which is scheduled for July 21, 2023, his leading position in the Diamond League standings assures him a place in the final face-off in Eugene, USA, this September. After the World Athletics Championships 2023, he also has the option to participate in the Zurich leg of the Diamond League, set for August 31.
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