Mindset Matters Neeraj Chopra on Paris Olympics Final

Paris:
“89.34 or 89.32?” Defending champion Neeraj Chopra humbly asked to confirm his throw while interacting with the media in the mixed zone after the end of the Paris Olympics javelin throw qualification at the Stade de France on Tuesday.

When asked what was going through his mind during his first throw, which turned out to be the best of the qualification round, he was quick to clarify, “Before or after the throw?”

“Before the throw, I was thinking if I can hit the target in the first throw, that would be ideal,” Neeraj said. “After that I could come back, do some stretching, and start preparing for the final. After the throw, I was very happy that it went so well. Now we’re ready for the final.“

Neeraj competed in Group B of the qualification round along with Arshad Nadeem.

Arshad followed Neeraj with a stunning maiden effort of 86.59m, his season’s best. Grenada’s Anderson Peters also showed his mettle with a throw of 88.63m, automatically qualifying in his first attempt. Germany’s Julian Weber recorded the fourth best throw of the qualification round with 87.76m.

“The final is yet to come. The more I rest, the better,” Neeraj said as he entered the mixed zone. “There will be a completely different mentality in the final. It was just qualification; the goal was to qualify. The real deal is the final.”

“The best throw is saved for the final. It will be a healthy, tough competition.”

When asked who he thought would be his top competition, Neeraj praised all the players who automatically qualified. “Everyone who automatically qualified is here with good preparation.”

He added that he usually aims for a great first throw but sometimes it doesn’t go according to plan. “I usually try to have a good first throw, but if it doesn’t work, the next one has to be better,” the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist explained.

Neeraj also trained in Germany for two weeks to prepare for the competition.

read more

Arshad Nadeem reached the Olympic javelin final with a solid 86.59m throw in the qualifier round at the Stade de France on Tuesday, keeping the nation’s Olympic medal hopes alive.

His season-best throw, the first and only of the qualifiers, puts him fourth in Thursday night’s final.

Reigning Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra of India led the field with a massive throw of 89.34m, also a season’s best.

Sandwiched between the two South Asians was Grenada’s Anderson Peters in third (88.63m) and European champion Julian Weber in fourth with 87.76m. All four athletes walked away from the qualifier round with a single throw that comfortably qualified them for the final.

The Kenyan Rio 2016 silver medalist finished fifth in the final after a throw of 85.97m in his third attempt, also a season’s best.

Brazil’s Luiz Maurício da Silva had a field day as he threw a personal best and broke the South American record with a throw of 85.91m to finish sixth.

Czech powerhouse Jakub Vadlejch is seventh in the field with a solo throw of 85.63m, well off his season best of 88.65m.

Finland’s Toni Kieranen got off to a flying start in his Olympic debut as his 85.27m throw doubled as a personal and season’s best to finish eighth.

Yet another season’s best was achieved as Republic of Moldova’s Andrian Mardare threw 84.13m to finish ninth in the final.