Abhijit Deshmukh from Doha
When legendary Jan Zelezny became the coach of double-Olympic-medalist Neeraj Chopra, it was expected that 90m will Czech-in soon. And why not? Jan Zelezny has thrown 90m on numerous occasions. He made sure that Neeraj achieved it in the Diamond League in Doha.
Neeraj’s last training session before the Doha meet was very light. No throws, stretching and a bit of sprint. He didn’t even lift a javelin during his session on Thursday. But that’s how strategy and planning are done. After crossing the 90m mark at Doha meet, Neeraj spoke to Revsportz exclusively.
Finally the 90m barrier has been broken. How are you feeling?
With (the kind of) preparations we had, I knew 90m was loading. Two of my throws were 88m plus today. Coach Jan Jan Zelezny was also saying, ‘You can throw better.’ I’ve been working with Jan Železný since February and we are working on a few aspects, so technique is changing a bit. I’m happy that 90m has finally been crossed.
Lots of people had the question on 90m. Some were saying it would not happen because I was consistently throwing 88, 89m but couldn’t cross the 90m mark. I’m sure the burden of lots of Indians is also reduced. I feel that I can throw more than 90m and this year I will do it.
I wanted to see the road of 90m. Now that I’ve seen it, I want to repeat 90m plus, like I did for 88,89m. Ek naara ho gaya tha ab ki baar 90m paar.
Watch the full interview here
🚨 BREAKING & EXCLUSIVE
“Not mine but surely the burden of the fans went down” — @Neeraj_chopra1 after breaching the 90m mark at the #DohaDiamondLeague @Diamond_League @dldoha @Limca_Official #NeerajChopra #DiamondLeague #Doha #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/5F3mgYIvwU
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) May 16, 2025
At any point of time before the event, did you get a gut feel that the 90m barrier would be broken?
When I came on the track, I had a couple of good warmup throws. I had a feeling then that 90m is possible today. On my third attempt (90m), I felt it wasn’t the best throw and didn’t have enough force as required in Javelin. But I’m happy that I got 90m. I’m also happy for Julian Weber that he also threw 90m plus. Both of us were trying to throw 90m for a long time. This is the first tournament of the season and it’s going to be a big season as the world championship is in September. It’s going to be very good competition.
Can you say a few words on working under the tutelage of the legendary Jan Zelezny?
Definitely it has increased my confidence. Being with him in itself brings out positivity. Zelezny is himself a world record holder. Whatever he says, I listen very carefully and I work on it. It’s going very good with him. I’m very lucky to have such a good coach. Even with Klaus, it was good, he was quite funny.
Javelin is a sport of injuries. My Physio, Ishaan Marwaha, has been with me for a long time. He helps me a lot in preventing injuries.
What is your next goal?
Most of the Indians wanted 90m which is achieved now. Now I’ll throw freely. 90m is good but I’ve crossed 89 several times. Now that I’ve seen the road of 90m, I know about consistency and I know I can do it. I’ve won almost all the major titles, but this 90m was left.
It is also an achievement for me, and millions of Indians wanted it to happen. Finally, it’s done, so I feel Javelin is complete. Now it’s all about how high I can keep the flag high, and till the time I play, I will try to make India proud.
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When Neeraj created history in Doha, our reporter was there to cover the epoch-making moment. We will stick to our vision of sending reporters to every major event. ✍️ @BoriaMajumdar https://t.co/wR7cmumgmT
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) May 17, 2025