Indian javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra feels that the postponed Hangzhou Asian Games extending the 2023 season won’t adversely impact his preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Asian Games were originally planned for 2022 but were postponed by a year due to COVID-19 restrictions in China. The delay extended the 2023 season for Neeraj Chopra and left him with a shorter window to prepare for his men’s javelin throw title defence in the Paris Olympics.
“Yes, the Asian Games 2023 is scheduled late. But I don’t think it’ll have too much of an impact. We’ll still have around eight to 10 months to prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics,” Neeraj Chopra said during a media interaction organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
“It means that I won’t be able to take a long break after the Hangzhou Games. We will have to start practising early and can’t let our fitness levels drop. That’ll be a big challenge,” Chopra added.
The Paris Olympics will be held in July-August next year. The Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou is scheduled from September 23 to October 8 and will be the final major competition of this year for Neeraj Chopra.
Before the Hangzhou Asian Games, however, Neeraj Chopra will be in action at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, to be held in Budapest from August 19 to 27.
“The world championships gold medal is still missing from my cabinet. My focus for the next few weeks is on preparing for Budapest. At the moment, my goal is to achieve my best physical condition for the world championships,” Chopra, who won a silver at the 2022 world championships in Oregon, said.
Neeraj Chopra recently came back from an injury and finished first at the Lausanne leg of the 2023 Diamond League series. The Indian javelin star, however, admits that his fitness levels are still not adequate for big-ticket events like the world championships, Asian Games and the Diamond League Finals.
“I have to go with 100 percent fitness in these events. If I am not physically fit, I will also not be mentally ready. Not only the physical aspect, the mental aspect is also important,” Neeraj Chopra said.
The 25-year-old Olympic champion also informed that he was undecided on his participation at the upcoming Monaco leg of the Diamond League, scheduled on July 21.
“We still have a couple of weeks for that and we will take a call later this week. If I feel that I am good and up for it, I will go there and compete,” Chopra said.
Chopra has already won both the men’s javelin Diamond League events, in Doha and Lausanne, this year and currently tops the qualification rankings for his event. He is likely to make the cut for the finals in Eugene, scheduled on September 16 and 17, even if he misses the Monaco leg.
