Neeraj Chopra looks to peak at Diamond League, eyes World Championship gold
Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has stated that he wants to maintain improving his skills with each new competition and year until he begins his competitive schedule in 2023. He will compete in his first tournament this year at the Diamond League begins in Doha on May 5.
After taking first place in the Zurich 2022 Diamond League final, Neeraj is preparing to participate in the competition. Chopra discussed how he is ready to battle against the best in Doha before departing for the Diamond League, which will be the first competitive event of 2023.
"My preparations are going well. We were in South Africa recently where we were focusing on concentrating on strength and conditioning. Now we are in Turkey at the Gloria Sports Arena to improve my technical skill so that I am in peak condition to compete in the Diamond League in Doha," said Neeraj on Sunday.
"This year we have a hectic competitive schedule with the Asian games in October later this year, so I want to improve technically as much as I can before we start competing this year. Along with the coaches and physios we are planning my training schedule very precisely so that I can improve while giving myself enough time to recover also because I want to compete in as many competitions this year as possible and avoid any kind of injuries."
"I am always looking to improve so that is my main focus this year also, I want to keep on enhancing my performance with each passing competition and year," he added. The star athlete continued by discussing the dynamics he has with Coach Klaus Bartonietz, who has been mentoring Neeraj since 2019 and has supported him through all of his victories over the last four years.
"Coach Klaus is wonderful, we share a great dynamic. He understands the mindset of an athlete really well, due to which he does not pile on unnecessary pressure on me at any point. He always makes sure that I am not frustrated and helps me manage tough situations in training really well. So, we are focused on improving as much as we can ahead of the Diamond League in Doha," said Neeraj.
Neeraj, who took home the silver medal in the Eugene, Oregon, World Championships in 2022, expressed his desire to compete against the world's top athletes at the Diamond League in Doha.
"It feels great to go up against the best athletes from across the globe, it gives me a chance to test myself out against elite competitors which is always a great motivator for me. I did not participate in the previous Diamond League that was held in Doha, because I felt I had not got a chance to train enough, but this time we started our preparations on time and now I feel primed to compete in the league in Doha this year. So hopefully, we will come away with the desired result," he said.
"Winning the gold medal at my first ever Olympics in Tokyo does also serve as a great motivator for me, especially since my overall experience of the games was wonderful. I am sure people's expectations of me will be higher for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but I will take that in my stride and will convert those expectations and pressure into motivators.
I have also learned a great deal since that Gold Medal in Tokyo of how to handle the pressure and maintain focus. We put in a lot of work to compete at the Tokyo games, so I will be looking to work even harder for the Paris Games so that we can come home with another medal from the games," Neeraj concluded.