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After securing the first spot in the Paris Diamond League, India's world champion and Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra spoke on breaking the records of his coach Jan Zelezny, saying that he needs to keep working and will only talk about it after touching 95 m.
Chopra once again proved his dominance on the global stage, winning the Paris Diamond League title on Friday night (local time) with a commanding first-round throw of 88.16 metres. Despite three no-marks in the middle rounds, his opening effort was enough to keep him on top throughout the competition. With Zelenzy in his corner, who holds the world record in men's javelin throw with 98.48 m effort in 1996, Neeraj touched the 90 m for the first time in his career as he came second at the Doha Diamond League last month. Speaking after his win at the Olympics.com, he said, "I was hoping for over 90m today, but my run-up was very fast and I could not control my speed. Still, I am very happy with the position as I won a Diamond League again after a long time." Neeraj said that working with Zelenzy made a much bigger impact than technical improvements in his training, and they are "working on some techniques". "If I am training under Jan, I have to throw over 90m - he has done it more than 52 times," he added. Neeraj, who managed six throws in a 89 m range under his former coach Klaus Bartonietz, also spoke on whether breaking the world record was on his radar. "First, I have to break some of his (lesser) records. The stadium record (in Paris of 91.40m set in 1993) belonged to my coach. I told him I felt good today, but it is really hard to beat him," Chopra said. "He has thrown 98m, and so many over 90. Maybe once I hit 95m, then I can start to say something - but right now, I need to keep working," he added. Neeraj's next event will be on June 24, the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet in Czechia. It will be followed by the Neeraj Chopra Classic at home in early July. Neeraj is also steadily building up for the World Athletics Championships this year in Tokyo, where he is set to defend the gold he won back in 2023 at Budapest. "The main target this year is the World Championships in Tokyo. I did really well there during the Olympics, and it is a stadium that feels special to me," he said. The World Championships will be held from September 13 to 21. "I would not say I'm aiming for gold - I just want to give my best without putting pressure on myself. At every new competition, I do not think too much about what I have done before - I just focus on the present day," Neeraj concluded. (ANI)
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