Neeraj Chopra Wins Historic World Athletics Championships Gold, But Reveals "Aim Was To Hit 90m Mark In Final"

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Golden boy Neeraj Chopra created history by becoming the first Indian to win gold at the World Athletics Championships, but the javelin thrower reveals that his actual goal was to hit the 90m mark in the final on Sunday (August 27).

Neeraj, who had qualified for the final with a first attempt throw of 88.77m, recorded his best throw of 88.17m in his second attempt in the medal match, which helped him keep his lead intact till the very end to clinch the gold.

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, the Commonwealth Games champion with 87.82m, bagged a silver medal, while Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch secured the bronze with a best throw of 86.67m.

Chopra was elated to fulfill dream by winning the World Championships gold after Olympic glory and added he was proud to another title for India. Despite being the lone thrower to cross 88m, Chopra felt he was not the best thrower at the event in Budapest and aims for more.

"After the Olympic gold I really wanted to win the world championships. I just wanted to throw further. This is brilliant for the national team but it was my dream to win gold at the world championships," Chopra said after the event.

"This has been a great championships for India and I am proud to bring another title to my country. I don't think I am the best thrower here. I wanted to throw more tonight."

The 25-year-old Indian history maker, however, revealed that he was a little disappointed that he could not hit the 90 metre mark despite winning the gold and added things didn't materialise in the manner he had hoped for in the final.

"I wanted to throw more than 90m tonight. But it needs all parts of the puzzle to be there. I couldn't put it all together this evening. Maybe next time," Neeraj told reporters in the post-match conference.

Chopra said he tought of pushing himself to get a better throw to break his own mark and take it further till his final throw, but added there is a lot of pressure in speed and technique.

"After the second round, I was thinking of pushing myself because I knew that I could get a better throw. But there is a lot of pressure on technique and speed," Neeraj said.

We have to push a lot in the qualifying round. There was only a single day for recovery so it was also a big factor. I go forward with the motivation of pushing myself till the last throw."

Chopra, who registered a foul in his first attempt, recorded throws of 88.17m, 86.32m, 84.64m, 87.73m and 83.98m in the final. The closest he has got to 90m was last year when he set a National Record with a monster throw of 89.94m to win the Stockholm Diamond League 2022.

The Tokyo Olympic gold medallist wasn't the only Indian competing in the final, Kishore Jena (personal best of 84.77 m) and DP Manu (best of 84.14 m) were also in the mix and finished fifth and sixth respectively.

This was Neeraj's second medal at the World Championships after he secured a silver in 2022. Previously, only Anju Bobby George had bagged the bronze for the country in the 2003 World Championships for the women's long jump.

Chopra will be back in action in the Asian Games 2023 Hangzhou, which is scheduled from September 23 to October 8. This competition will mark the final major competition of this year for the 25-year-old javelin thrower. He will also be defending his title in the Diamond League later this year.