#RoadToTokyoOlympics: Back with a bang, Neeraj Chopra could be the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in athletics!

An injury to an athlete can be as fatal as ending their dream. It can almost change their life upside down. So, what happens when an athlete is out of action for several months and when he/she comes back COVID-19 lockdown grapples the whole world affecting the athlete's life severely. The same incident was witnessed when India's top javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was injured and when he was on his comeback trail the coronavirus outbreak brought life to a standstill across the globe.

 

 

 

In 2019, he got injured after which Neeraj was resting for several months that definitely caused some problems in his promising career. It had caused him to miss the entire 2019 season! It affected them in such a way that his competitors were doing well in competitions across the world during that time. The statistics taken from his competitors are all from events that took place prior to lockdown and during the long injury layoff that Neeraj suffered from.

 

 

 

He came back in January 2020 and guess what, the 23-year-old qualified for the Tokyo Games with an 87.86-metre throw at the ACNW League meeting. Soon after, he was deprived of proper training and competition, thanks to coronavirus. He was forced to return from his training base in Turkey but the Haryana-born made most of the time to work on himself within the confines of the elite athletes’ hostel in Patiala.

 

 

Now, in 2021, back at his training base in Bhubaneswar, Chopra is ensuring that he stays in top form building up to the Games. Be it the high-intensity workouts that he’s switched to or the multiple throwing sessions, he is keen on fulfilling his New Year’s resolution -- breaking the 90m mark. "During competitions, my focus remains only on giving my 100 per cent and not on the distance. I reckon that if I remained consistent during competitions, the 90m-mark won't be difficult to achieve," he was quoted as saying on the Olympic channel website.

 

 

Neeraj Chopra’s last throw in competition measured 87.86 metres, which helped him make the Olympic cut. The Indian’s personal best stands at 88.06m. In early March, he competed for the first time in more than a year after the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the whole of 2020 calendar in the third Indian Grand Prix meet in Patiala. It was his first tournament in over 13 months. So, he hurled his spear to a distance of 88.07m in his fifth attempt to go past his earlier national record of 88.06m, sealed during the gold-winning effort at the 2018 Asian Games.

 

 

People say winning medals, honors are achievements but comebacking in this way is also a milestone that will boost their confidence in their #RoadToTokyoOlympics. He has come a long way since 2018, where his throws have gone from an average of 82m to a consistent average of about 85m. The aim would now be to breach the 90m mark in the coming months and build on the impressive throws taken at the national events.

 

 

There are over three months left for the Olympics, and Neeraj, with consistency and hopefully no injuries, shall be looking to finish on the podium with ease, if he continues in the same way. He is one of India’s leading hopes for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. If achieves it, he will be the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in athletics.