Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Devendra Jhajharia has backed former Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra of breaking the 90m mark by some distance. Neeraj, who recently won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, has not breached the elusive mark so far in his career. His best throw is 89.94m, which he achieved in the Stockholm event in 2022.
Meanwhile, Jhajharia, who is in himself a two-time Paralympic gold medalist, thinks Neeraj will cross the mark handsomely in one or two years. "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," Jhajharia told PTI.
"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," said Jhajharia.
The PCI president said that age is in favour of Neeraj and believes he will peak when he turns 28 or 29. "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," he said.
Meanwhile, Jhajharia said that India's target for the Paralympics 2024 will be to win 25 medals and 50 in 2036 when India hopefully hosts it. "We won 19 medals in Tokyo, now we have a target of 25 in Paris. In 2028 Los Angeles, we can aim for more than 30 medals and 40 plus in 2032. And by 2036, when hopefully India hosts Paralympics, we can win 50 medals and be in top 10," he said.
