Neeraj Chopra, India's first athletics gold medalist

[prasen9]

I actually checked twice before starting this thread. Nobody has started a thread on this phenomenal pioneer. You may think that the volume of discussion may be not so high as to make another thread. But, I am swayed by the historic nature of Mr. Chopra's achievements. If we don't really want a thread, sorry to the mods - please merge this back to the Athletics thread.

How many more Olympics do you think he will last (at medal winning prospect form)? Typically, javelin throwers peak later on in their life. But, Neeraj has produced from his early 20s, I think. So, maybe he will not last until 40 as some do although maybe not at Olympic medal winning prospect form. Can he give us two more Olympics where he is a contender?

His injury is worrisome and hope his hernia heals up soon after his surgery.

[jayakris]

The thread is absolutely appropriate. We should have started one a long time ago.

[prasen9]

On his injury problems, etc., there is a nice article on ESPN.

[sameerph]

I too am surprised that we did not have a thread for him.

How many more Olympics do you think he will last (at medal winning prospect form)? Typically, javelin throwers peak later on in their life. But, Neeraj has produced from his early 20s, I think. So, maybe he will not last until 40 as some do although maybe not at Olympic medal winning prospect form. Can he give us two more Olympics where he is a contender?

He has won a medal in every international event since 2018. We can surely expect him to be a contender for medal at next olympics. I am not sure after that.

[jayakris]

But he should take care of that injury. Do whatever he needs to do. No big deal if he is off the circuit for a year for that. We only need him at the Asiad next

[arjun2761]

Yes, he has been either 1 or 2 in almost every competition that he's competed in the last few years including 2 Olympics and 2 World Championships.

Whether he will be a medal contender in 2028 (when he will be 30-31) is largely dependent on his injury management. I suspect if he can manage his injuries he may be more of a top 5 level contender instead of the top 2 contender he's been for last several years. Even though throwers stay good as they get older, that may be because you lose strength at a slower rate. However, a lot of Neeraj's throws are based on his explosiveness and that does decline with age faster than strength. Can he get stronger? Perhaps he can but he has a smaller frame compared to a lot of his javelin peers, so it may not be as easy for him to do so.

[arjun2761]

[Moved this reply to Prem's comments after the Lausanne Diamond League from the general athletics thread to here, as this thread is now available... Mod, Jay]

Watched it live on TV. Neeraj was trailing at 4th place after 4 rounds.
Needed to be in top 3 with his 5th throw to be in top 3.
Only the top 3 get another opportunity with a 6th throw!!
Neeraj came up with 85.58 M with his 5th throw to squeeze in 3rd place
In the last throw, Anderson Peters who was leading with 88.49 M went first and did an Arshad to throw 90.61 M!!!
Julian Weber went next and couldn’t improve on his 87.08 M
Last throw was of Neeraj. He gave it his all and threw his Seasons Best of 89.49 M to land the Silver
Neeraj didn’t foul any of his 6 throws here and kept his best for the last 2 throws.
Now, Neeraj should get fully fit after the Diamond league commitments and I am sure he will breach 90 M after that.

Yes, I am confident that Neeraj will conquer 90 mts soon. Perhaps, he should target a smaller meet where throwing conditions are ideal for distances just like the discus throwers have a couple of venues that are known to be conducive to longer distance throws. BTW, it is interesting that Arshad did not compete here. His sporadic big throws and then long disappearances (presumably in Pakistan) seems quite suspicious to me. If his training base is in West, then of course it is less suspicious.