Neeraj Chopra’s family talks about ‘dream coming true’ following Diamond league success
After the success in Zurich onThursday Neeraj Chopra is now the Olympic champion, World Championships silver medallist and Diamond League champion
Neeraj Chopra continued to write his name in the history books after winning the Diamond League final on Thursday. The world championship silver medalist won the title with a throw of 88.44m in his second attempt. It was Chopra’s third appearance in the Diamond League Finals after finishing seventh and fourth respectively in 2017 and 2018. Neeraj Chopra’s family spoke exclusively to Republic TV regarding his latest success
The kid got love from the nation: Neeraj Chopra’s father Satish Chopra
Neeraj Chopra’s father Satish Chopra expressed excitement on his son Neeraj winning the medal for the country after recovering from injury. He said, “Athletes are prone to injuries and with the amount of injuries that Neeraj had to go through we are thankful to god that he has been able to recover from that.”
He added “The kid got love from the entire nation. When an injury happens it feels like everything has stopped in life. One has to take care of the injury and after working on the injury an athlete reaches at this level. As expected Neeraj did well and made the country proud. We are very proud of him as well .”
Speaking about the life struggles said that parents have to go through the struggle andneed to support their kids. He said,” Every parent has to struggle and kids also contribute to it a lot. Parents need to keep their trust in the kid and support them to see that the kid has not lost his focus on his goal. i am really happy as a parent that Neeraj has made the country proud.
Speaking about government contribution in the country getting more medals, Satish Chopra added, “The government also has a huge role to play. If you see the Khelo India games initiative it has become attraction and prime Minister Narendra Modi and government officials are taking interest in it. Earlier we never used to get medals due to lack of interest but now interest in sports has started to increase.”
Winning Diamond League medal is a proud moment: Bheem Chopra
After the success in Zurich Neeraj Chopra is now the Olympic champion, World Championships silver medallist and Diamond League champion in space of just just 13 months. Speaking of the performance in the Diamond League final, Neeraj Chopra’s uncle Bheem Chopra said, “Feels like dream come true. We (India) have struggled to win medal in Diamond league. It is a very proud moment that we have won the medal for very first time.”
After suffering injury during the World Championships, Neeraj Chopra did not play the Commonwealth Games where he was considered a medal prospect . The Olympic Gold medalist made a spectacular return from a one-month injury lay-off by winning the Lausanne-leg of the Diamond League series on August 26 and qualifying for the Finals here.
Talking about Neeraj Chopra’s ability to stay patient during the rehab Bheem Chopra said “He never neglected the groin injury suffered at the world championship and did proper rehab. Had he neglected the injury and participated in CWG he would not have reached this level and not won the diamong league.” he further added, “He kept his compsure and was patient doing the rehab. He rested well and then started practicising due to which hewas able to win the title.”
Diamond League Finals: Here’s how Neeraj Chopra won gold in Javelin throw event
Chopra started the final with a foul in his first attempt. The World Chmpionship silver medalist claimed the top spot with a throw of 88.44m in his second attempt. The attempt was his fourth career best throw, whilch also eventually turned out be medal winning throw. the last four attempts ended at distance of 88.00m, 86.11m, 87.00m and 83.60m. Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic finished second with a best throw of 86.94m which he registered in his fourth attempt. Julian Weber of Germany was third with a best of 83.73m.
