The Weight of India’s Olympic Gold Hopes Rests on Neeraj Chopra’s Javelin

India’s track and field athlete Neeraj Chopra is tasked to achieve an unprecedented feat in the history of Indian sports. ‘The man of many firsts’ has the golden opportunity to become the first Indian athlete in an individual sport to win two consecutive gold medals in the Olympics. Chopra would start his journey on Tuesday (August 06) with the qualification round and eye the finals on August 08. However, it might not be easy for the Haryana lad as his competitors will also try to finish first on the podium. 

The Hurdles in the Destiny

First of all, Neeraj Chopra is coming back from a bothersome adductor niggle which forced him to miss almost a whole season of professional competitions. His consistency would be put to the test as the 26-year-old world champion has participated only in three events this year. 

While taking precautionary measures from a possible adductor, Chopra withdrew from the Ostrava Golden Spike on May 28. Prior to this event, he had marked his season’s best with a throw of 88.36m and finished second in the Doha Diamond League in May. He stormed back to the sport with a throw of 85.97m to clinch the gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland on June 18. However, he later opted out of the Paris Diamond League on July 7. 

Secondly, the Indian star would face some fierce competition from his opponents who are equal favorites for securing the Olympic gold. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who also won the silver medal at the Tokyo Games, would be the most formidable and fearsome opponent for Neeraj Chopra. The Czech thrower pipped Neeraj Chopra to earn the top spot at the Doha Diamond League, albeit by just 2 cm. He later also went on to win European gold with a throw of 88.65m, the season’s second-best mark. Besides Jakub, Germany’s Julian Weber and former world champion Anderson Peters would also make their claim for the ultimate glory. 

An Unprecedented Glory Awaits

Only four men have successfully defended their titles in men’s javelin history at the multi-sporting spectacle. The list also includes Neeraj Chopra’s idol Jan Zelezny who represented the Czech Republic and won gold in three consecutive Olympics in 1992, 1996, and 2000. Chopra would try to replicate his idol’s achievement at the Paris Olympics. 

Neeraj Chopra is a strong contender and perhaps, India’s only hope left at the Paris Games to win gold yet again. His consistency makes him stand out in the sport against his competitors. Since winning the gold at the Tokyo Olympics, Chopra has missed out just twice to cross the 85m mark out of his 15 competitions. Along with Chopra, India can also hold hopes from another Indian in the fray at the men’s javelin, Kishore Jena. The 28-year-old sealed an automatic berth to the games after throwing 87.54m throw in the Asian Games last year, though he has struggled to cross the 80m mark since then. 

India at the Paris Olympics 

India has been currently able to produce only three medals, all bronze, at the Paris Games with a double from shooter Manu Bhaker. One of India’s biggest hopes, Lakshya Sen, has also missed out on an Olympic medal after losing to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia (21-13, 16-21, 11-21). The 22-year-old shuttler earlier lost a hard-fought semifinal game against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark on Sunday.