Need to break 90m barrier to be a medal contender at Tokyo Olympics: Neeraj Chopra

Chopra was inducted into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme in November 2018 and has received a total of Rs 31.42 lakh so far towards Sports Science equipment, sports gear, out of pocket allowance etc. Besides, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has sanctioned an ACTC budget of Rs 32.53 crores to the Athletics Federation of India during 2020-21.

Speaking at a virtual media interaction hosted by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the star javelin thrower stressed that he has to break the 90m mark in order to stay in contention for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"The German Johannes Vetter is consistently throwing 91m-92m currently. Plus the current group of javelin throwers is the best the world has ever seem. There are any at least six or seven throwers who consistently hit the 86m-87m mark. Keeping all that in mind a 91m or 92m throw will be good enough to keep me in medal contention, but in the end it all depends on how everyone performs on the day when it matters the most," Chopra said.

With the covid-19 imposed travel restrictions in place at the moment, Chopra along with quite a few athletes who were supposed to travel to Turkey for training-cum-competition are currently stuck in the country without any international competitions. The Asian Games gold medallist said that he is currently looking to move to Sweden or Finland, if possible, for better training ahead of the Olympics.

"I need an international competition before my first Olympics. The confidence level needs to be 100 percent. I am training well in Patiala but an international meet is always an added advantage. I have spoken with my team and have zeroed in on Sweden or Finland as our training base. The competitive levels are better there."

Chopra explained that he tries not to think much of the expectations the country has from him and that he is solely focused on giving his best when the Olympics start.

"I feel happy that people have high expectations from me. But I shouldn't take this as pressure and not think of anything that affects my mind. I don't know if I will win a medal but I will keep no stone unturned in my effort. My body goes automatically in a different zone during the competition and I get that strength to give my best performance," he said.