World U20 C'hips gold medal winning throw remains most satisfying: Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Chopra might have won Olympic and World Championships gold medals, but he was never satisfied with the throws that earned him the coveted prizes.

The only time, Neeraj said, he felt satisfied with his throw was when he hurled the spear to a distance of 86.48m at the World U20 Championships in 2016.

“To date, I am only satisfied with one throw of mine, which was 86.48 m in the World Under-20 Championships 2016. That was one throw where I felt it was a special, unique one, but I have not been satisfied with any throw since," Neeraj told Dinesh Karthik on JioCinema’s ‘Get Set Gold'.

"I feel I haven’t got to my peak yet; I have won gold and won a lot of competitions, but I still believe I have not reached my best and I am not satisfied with my throw yet," he added.

It was Neeraj's first major medal on the international stage. He set a new world junior record with a throw of 86.48m in Bydgoszcz, Poland, becoming the first Indian athlete to achieve a world record going past the then defending Olympic champion's Keshorn Walcott's mark.

Neeraj is among the best javelin throwers in the world right now, as the reigning Olympic and world champion.

He also won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. In 2023, the Indian star defended his Asian Games gold in Hangzhou. He first won the continental gold at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. 

Neeraj also opened up on his hobbies, including a short-lived habit of shopping that led to a complicated overseas purchase.

“I have many hobbies. I like hanging out with my friends. I also liked shopping a lot, but now I shop less because it feels like a waste of money. We can spend that money elsewhere. I like collecting unique things. I once went past a shop in Germany that had unique art pieces. I liked a statue of a warrior sitting on a horse, throwing a spear, more like throwing a javelin, so I bought it without even thinking. It was of 20kgs. Later, I thought, ‘How will I take it to India?’ Finally, a brother of mine managed it," Neeraj revealed.

Revealing how he spent his time during the Covid-19 lockdown, he said, "During the lockdown, I watched movies with the best IMDb ratings. So, there was The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, A Beautiful Mind, and The Pianist. I recently watched a movie, Society of the Snow. I would like to tell everyone to watch it. It makes me feel like our lives are much better.”