 "Neeraj Chopra said he now knows how to make 90+ meter throws. Image: Reuters")
Neeraj Chopra finally breached the 90m mark as he achieved a new national record with a 90.23m throw on Friday night at the Doha Diamond League. Neeraj did not win the competition as his long-time friend, Julian Weber of Germany, also broke the 90m mark for the first time and clinched the first position with a 91.06m throw. Grenada’s Anderson Peters came third at 85.34m.
Nonetheless, the second position at the Doha Diamond League 2025 is a small blip on a massive achievement for Neeraj, who has already won two medals at the Olympics, including a gold and the 2023 World Championships. Neeraj won all the major medals in the javelin throw competition by consistently hitting the 88-89m marks but the Paris Olympics, where he lost the gold to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, showed him that 90m was now a must.
While Nadeem won the gold with a throw of 92.97m and breached the 90m mark twice in the Olympic final, Neeraj settled for silver with a throw of 89.45m.
But on Friday, at the Qatar Sports Complex, Neeraj broke the bad luck and clinched his first-ever 90m throw as he hurled the javelin 90.23m far on his third attempt.
Neeraj says critics have been proven wrong
After breaking the 90m barrier, Neeraj said that he always knew 90m was possible for him but this achievement will give Indian fans another reason to celebrate.
“A lot of people used to ask about the 90m mark. Some also said it won’t happen because since 2018, I have reached so far and been hitting 88-89m marks. Finally, not for me but surely the burden of the Indian fans has gone away now that the 90m is crossed. I feel I can do better and we will do it this year,” he told RevSportz.
“I had belief. I needed to know how to cross 90m and now I know that. So just like I consistently threw 88-89m, now I will try to target 90 and 90+ throws.”
Neeraj added that helpful breezy conditions in Doha and the warm weather also helped him. “When I was having warm-up throws my coach said today is the day when I can throw 90m. After my 90m throw also, he told me I can throw 2-3m farther,” he said.
“The wind helps for sure and the weather is a little warm and that helps. It’s the first competition of the year, so everyone came with a fresh mindset after a long time and has hunger inside for the throwing part.”
Neeraj also credited his new coach, Jan Zelezny, who is considered the greatest javelin thrower ever, for his latest achievement.
“I am very happy that Jan Zelezny is my coach and we worked very hard in South Africa. We are still working on some aspects.”
The 27-year-old Indian athlete also did not forget to praise his competitor, Weber, who won the competition with a personal best throw. “I also told Julian (Weber) that we can throw 90m. I am also happy for him. We have tried very hard for 90m for so many years, and so we are happy. It’s like a good push between us and in the next competition we will push each other again and will throw farther,” he added.