"Neeraj will throw 92m to 93m in one or two years" - India para javelin legend Devendra Jhajharia

Devendra Jhajharia, India's legendary para javelin throw athlete, has high hopes on Neeraj Chopra. Jhajharia believes that the 26-year-old will go past the much-awaited 90m mark and throw 93m in the next one or two years.

Chopra was always determined to get past that 90m mark. He previously held the best throw among the Asians at the Olympic Games, a feat now held by Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem.

Neeraj Chopra registered three magnificent throws this season, bettering his own season best and slowly moving towards the 90m mark.

In the Paris Olympics' qualification stages of the men's javelin throw event, he logged a 89.34m throw, which helped him easily grab a spot for the final. The final however, wasn't a smooth one as only one of his six throws were legal and the rest were considered fouls.

However, that single throw helped him earn the silver medal - 89.45m. And now, just a few days back at the Lausanne Diamond League, the 26-year-old registered a 89.49m throw, his current season best.

Devendra Jhajharia said in an interaction to PTI:

"If I say in the language of javelin throw, 89-plus has become a barrier for Neeraj currently. I have seen in my sporting career of 20 years, when a barrier is broken it does not break by just a mere metre or so, but by 3 to 4 metres."

He further said:

"When Neeraj does that, he will not throw just 90-plus, his javelin will go 3-4 metres farther. Please remember my words. So, Neeraj will throw 92m to 93m when the barrier is broken. He should do it in one or two years. Age is in his favour, 26 is no age and I am hoping that he will be at his peak when he is 28 or 29. By then, he will do his best. He is very disciplined and very dedicated. I have seen that when we trained together in 2022 in Finland."

---

Neeraj Chopra's recent form and injury

Neeraj Chopra was a gold medal hopeful for the Paris Olympics 2024 as he had achieved a similar feat three years back in Tokyo. He made a good start in the qualification stages, giving birth to hope among millions of his faithfuls in India.

However, it seemed as if he succumbed to pressure in the final, specially after Arshad Nadeem registered a historic 92.97m which also went down in history books as the Olympic record.

Neeraj Chopra had some injury issues, groin injury to be precise and will perhaps undergo some treatment in the upcoming days.