The Spear Head

There's an air of optimism around Indian athletics at the moment. The highly-talented Neeraj Chopra, Hima Das' and Muhammed Anas' are shining bright on the world stage, making fans in the country sit up and take notice.

And, as Indian athletics looks to better its medal count in these upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia from the 13 medals the contingent won in the 2014 Incheon edition, all eyes will be on Chopra to lead India's charge in that quest.

The 20-year-old javelin thrower has hit a purple patch this year, winning three gold medals in key events including the 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG), all of them with throws of over 85m.

What's more, Chopra registered his personal best throw of 87.43m en route to finishing fourth in the season-opening Diamond League in Doha in May. The Indian has also earned a place in the prestigious Diamond League finals to be held in Zurich on August 30.

His consistent show throughout the year makes him the hot favourite to break's India's javelin throw gold medal duck at the Asian Games, though the boy himself isn't getting carried away.

"The Asian Games will have tougher competition than CWG," Chopra said. "There will be some good javelin throwers. Last year itself, a guy from Chinese Taipei threw 91m. Besides him, there will be good throwers from Qatar, Japan and China.

"So, the Asian Games will have stiff competition, but I will give it my all to do well there. Mazaa aayega khelne mein (it will be fun to compete)," he added.

That Chinese Taipei thrower is Chao-Tsun Cheng, who threw 91.36m last year but has been up and down with his performances since.
For Chopra, though, consistency has been his buzzword, a trait that ensured he became India's first CWG javelin gold medallist when he threw 86.47m in Gold Coast earlier this year.

The boy from Panipat, Haryana, has had many a memorable international wins as a junior, but the CWG triumph was his first major mark on the world athletics map at the senior level.
It brought him under immense spotlight, fans in the country labelling him as the next big star in Indian athletics.

Young sportspersons stand a risk of getting weighed down by such burden of expectations on their shoulders, and Chopra understands that danger.
"Even if there is pressure on me, it usually works in my favour," he said. "It ensures that my focus remains.

"But, an athlete must always stay away from pressure. The more you think about it, the less is your focus on performance. You then start thinking about, 'what will people say, what will people think?'. That affects your mind. So, self-belief is important to keep pressure away," he added.
Terms like self-belief and focus weren't always a part of Chopra's dictionary, though.

"When I started off, I knew nothing: what I'm doing, why I'm doing. I had no targets. My only objective back then was to complete my training and workouts. I only knew how to work hard, nothing else. And I had fun doing that," he said.
"Once that led to me doing well, the junoon (passion) within me grew," he added.

That 'junoon' took a youngster without any ambition to a historic gold in the 2016 U-20 World Championships, a territory where no Indian had gone before.
That, according to Chopra, has been one of the biggest turning points of his life so far.

"After the world junior, a name has been made. Winning India's first ever gold medal in track and field was a big thing. Plus, it was a world record as well. That's why people started talking more about it and about me. And with that, their expectations also rose, that this boy will do something big in the future," he said.
He's so far fulfilling those expectations, having quickly realised his rare talent and greater potential.

"Earlier, I used to train according to my wish. Now, I train with more focus and discipline, because there are expectations. Not just from people but from myself as well, that I want to keep performing better and ensure that the India flag remains on top," he said.
The odds of that happening at the Asian Games are quite high.

N ZONE

87.43

Distance (in metres) Neeraj Chopra managed to throw at the Diamond League in Doha in May, his personal best throw. His efforts earned him a 4th-place finish

Asiad to Diamond League, a quick dash

Having qualified for the IAAF Diamond League finals to be held in Zurich, Neeraj Chopra will have to make a quick dash from Jakarta to Zurich in order to participate in the prestigious tournament. The finals of the javelin throw at the Asiad is on August 27, while the Diamond League finals are on August 30, leaving a short time for the Indian to participate in both the events. "It's very close to the Asian Games, just three days after it. So, I hope I do well at the Asian Games and then if everything holds up well, I will go compete in the Diamond League. If not, I'll discuss with my coach and look to enter other competitions."

FLASHBACK 2014

Athletics

India won a total of 13 medals from athletics in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, including 2 gold, 3 silver and 8 bronze. The two gold medal winners were Seema Punia in women's discus throw and the women's 4x400m relay team of Priyanka Pawar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and MR Poovamma.