Tokyo Olympics 2020, Form Guide: Tracking Neeraj Chopra's performances over last two years ahead of his first Games

Editor’s Note: For five years now, Indian athletes have been dreaming to make up for the disappointment of a two-medal haul in Rio. The span has been extraordinary, with COVID-19 having thrown their preparations - and the Olympics itself - off gear. However, in true Olympic spirit, the country’s finest sportspersons have battled form and uncertainty to put their best foot forward in what promises to be a Games like none other. In our latest series, we track the last two years’ performances of our athletes to give you a ready guide to their form leading into the biggest sporting spectacle of the world. Firstpost.com takes a quick look at Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and charts his journey towards securing Olympic qualification. Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is set to make his first appearance in an Olympics at the Tokyo 2020 Games, but his journey towards clinching an Olympic berth has not been easy, amid a few injury setbacks hindering his goal. Neeraj burst onto the international scene in 2016, when he won the World U20 Championship in Bydogszcz, Poland with a throw of 86.48 meters, a world junior record. The same year, he claimed gold in the 2016 South Asian Games with a throw of 82.23. What made this achievement more memorable was that he equalled the then Indian national record. In 2017 at the Asian Athletic Championships, Neeraj clinched another gold with a throw of 85.23. He achieved his first major feat in the international arena when he clinched gold in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, with a season-best throw of 86.57, thereby becoming the first Indian javelin thrower to bag a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. It was just a few months later in August, when Neeraj bettered his own record with a throw of 88.06 m in the Asian Games 2018, where he went onto claim gold. However, then began the setbacks. Neeraj sustained a career-threatening shoulder injury in May 2019, and later underwent a major surgery that forced him out of action for more than six months. Neeraj was also in line to take part in the National Championships in late 2019, but, because of his injury, he did not get clearance from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). Neeraj was also forced to miss the IAAF World Championships, Diamond League, and the Asian Championships, as he was under rehabilitation. In January 2020, Neeraj made a very strong comeback, doing what every athlete aspires for - qualify for the Olympics. It was during the ACNE League meeting in South Africa, when Neeraj breached the Olympic qualification mark of 85, in his fourth attempt, to secure a ticket to Tokyo. While he threw at a distance of 81.56m in his first attempt, his results kept getting better, managing 82 m and 82.57 m in the second and third attempts respectively. However, since securing the Olympic berth, there was a long gap between the event in South Africa and his next competitive challenge. He then had a brief training stint in Turkey, before rushing back to India in March 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. He finally returned to competitive action in June this year, when he threw 83.18  at the Meeting Cidade de Lisboa in Portugal. He went onto win gold for his efforts. As he continued to train in Europe leading upto the Olympics, Neeraj produced a below-par effort of 80.96, but still went onto win the Karlstad Grand Prix in Sweden in late June. This was followed by a third-place finish in the Kuortane Games in Finland with a throw of 86.79, but later pulled out of the next event, a World Athletics silver-level event in Switzerland, owing to fatigue. He even opted to skip a Diamond League event in London on 13 July, while continuing to train in Uppsala, Sweden. The Diamond League, had he participated, would have been his last shot before the Games. Click here to check out form guides for the rest of the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.