He was the most eagerly awaited Indian at the Athletes’ Village even before the Asian Games commenced. Tracked and photographed at every step during his journey till Hangzhou, Neeraj Chopra is probably the one person everyone wants to meet here. The floppy-haired youngster who set a new national record at the 2018 edition five years ago has graduated to a global superstar.
From then to now, the world of Indian sports has changed with Chopra now its lodestar. The man himself, though, remains as grounded as he was in his first Asian Games. “In 2018 it was just the start of a journey, I had participated in the Commonwealth Games before that. It was very good, I got a new national record of 88.06m. But yes, things have changed a lot since then, dreams of playing in the Olympics and winning a medal there and at the World Championships have been fulfilled so it feels nice. But this is the first time I will be trying to defend my title in a major tournament,” he said during an interaction with Indian media here.
Having missed a large part of the year due to a persistent groin strain that also led to doubts on his Asian Games participation, Chopra insisted it was all about managing the body and mind and focussing on performance, not injuries. “The main focus and challenge this year was to stay fit till the Asian Games. The target was to do well in World Championships and that happened, the dream of a gold there was fulfilled. It was not easy because I missed a few events due to the strain at the start of the season itself.
