India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra is set to be back in action this month in the Diamond League in Doha and will also be participating in the 27th Federation Cup that will be taking place in Odisha from May 12 to May 15. Notably, it will be a quick turnaround for him as he will be in Qatar on May 10 aand within 48 hours, should reach India to take part in the domestic competition.
For the unversed, the Olympics are set to be played from July 26 to August 11 this year where Neeraj will look to defend his gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics. It is a good chance for him to warm up with National Federation Cup athletics championship at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar and the Diamond League in Doha in the lead up to the Games. Moreover, his compatriot Kishore Jena will also be participating in the Diamond League a couple of days later.
He last played at the Federation Cup in 2021 in Patiala and had recorded the best throw of 87.80m. "As per entries Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Kumar Jena will compete in domestic competition starting May 12 in Bhubaneshwar,” the Athletics Federation of India posted on social media.
Neeraj Chopra has already created several records with his ability in Javelin Throw but the man is yet to cross the elusive 90-metre mark despite registering a throw of 89.94 metre in Stockholm. Earlier, he had expressed to be fully fit for the Paris Olympics in order to bring glory for India and how he wants to improve all the time.
"I want to be in best possible shape before Paris Olympics. My training sessions have gone off really well so far. I always lay stress on fitness along with strength and technique. This is the best I have felt in a long time but I must add that training and competition are not the same. When you wear the India jersey, the feeling is different, the josh (energy) is unbelievable," Neeraj had said while speaking to SAI Media.
"What matters to me is staying 100 per cent fit, being consistent during the season and delivering on the day that matters. I think there are mistakes to fix and looking at the increasing competition all around, one has to keep improving. The road will close if you think you have done it all," he added.
