Let's just leave it to the gods: Chopra on 90m and beyond
New Delhi (PTI): Having missed out on breaching the elusive 90m mark at the Paris Games, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra has left that widely debated matter "to the gods".
After all, Chopra has been chasing that milestone for years and the wait got longer when his only legal throw of 89.45m got him a silver at the Paris Olympics earlier this month.
A back-to-back medal at the Summer Games was a monumental feat for an Indian athlete but it was way short of Arshad Nadeem's sensational 92.97m that comfortably secured a historic gold for the Pakistani.
Nursing a long-standing groin injury, Chopra managed to be on the podium and now he will be seen in the Lausanne Diamond League starting August 22.
After a busy couple of days post the Olympic final on August 8, Chopra started training in Switzerland and is determined to finish the season on a high despite being restricted by the injury.
"I need to leave it to gods now," he said when asked about his target throw in the foreseeable future.
"I Just want to prepare well and see where the javelin goes. There has already been talk about 90m, now I feel just let it be. In Paris, I thought it would happen and it could have happened.
"Now I will give my 100 percent in the next two or three events and see what happens," he said in a virtual interaction arranged by JSW.
Following the season-ending Diamond League in Brussels from September 13-14, Chopra will consult the doctors on his groin injury with surgery being the most likely option. The 26-year-old has been managing the injury since winning the gold in the World Championships last year.
With Arshad producing an Olympic record throw in the final, Chopra needed to up his game but he said he could not do that because of his physical state.
"I felt I could increase the distance. My two no throws in qualification and final, they were second and third best throws and my season best as well. To increase distance I need to be injury free.
"In my mind I know need to give 100 percent but because of the injury I am not able to give 100 percent. My body and mind stops me from making that extra effort.
"What is most important in training session is throwing sessions which I have not been able to do as much as I would like (due to injury). If you can't throw regularly then you are not able to work on your technique. I need to throw as much as I can. The rest is all fine," said Chopra.
He needs to make a few technical tweaks in his game.
"When we run with the javelin there is also lot of strain on groin, when we take cross step. But right now I am not able to tweak my technique. Also my line of the javelin was also not perfect.
"Arc speed was good in Paris but the line was disturbed. If it would be straighter, I could have got two three metres out of it. However, not for once I thought that Arshad's throw could not be bettered. My mind was ready to push the limits but body was not," said the champion athlete.
Chopra needs to finish in the top-six of Diamond League Meetings series to qualify for the season finale in Brussels.
"I came to Switzerland for training ahead of Diamond League. Luckily I did not aggravate my injury as I took extra care of that. I thought of continuing my season like most other athletes. There is one month to go for season end. I will go to the doctors in free time," he said.
We need to spot talent better to become sporting powerhouse
India finished an abysmal 71st in the Paris medals tally with five bronze and Chopra's silver.
Asked what India needs to do to become a sporting power, Chopra said: "Overseas, there are more talent spotters. For example I took up javelin I don't know how, I liked it so I pursued it. But if we try multiple sports and pick the best one on recommendations of an expert that way Indian sport can move forward. We need to spot talent better.
"Also, we can't just focus on one sport. We need to be good in all sports. I feel the leaders in the medals tally (China, USA, Japan). They all are powerful nations in various fields, sports play a big part as well in lifting the profile of the nation.
"Hope we do well in the next Olympics, and qualify for FIFA World Cup as well. Cricket we already are doing well. There is no dearth of talent, mental, we also need to have more coaches," added Chopra, who plans to open javelin academies going forward.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
