"I can improve and perform better," says Neeraj Chopra after breaking National Record on return

"This was my first competition since the Tokyo Olympics and it went really well as in the first competition itself, I hit my personal best throw and also won the silver medal. Now I am aiming for the next few events which would be bigger than this and of course the Commonwealth Games, where I will face a lot of competition." Neeraj said.

He then went on to add that the event gave him a confidence boost and now he aims to improve upon what he learned at the Paavo Nurmi Games.

"I got a good start here, so it has definitely boosted my confidence that I can perform better and I will take the shortcomings from here and improve upon them as we head for a bigger event," he added.

Neeraj, who is currently training in Kuortane, Finland for the upcoming Diamond League event in Stockholm, is part of Ministry's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) which gives personalized support to athletes. Since the Olympics in Tokyo last year, all of Neeraj's foreign exposure trips have been funded under the Ministry's TOPS.

He had started his training initially at United States' Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Centre for three months, followed by another three months of training at the Gloria Sports Arena in Antalya, Turkey. He is currently training at Finland's Kuortane Olympic Training Centre till 22nd June 2022 and is also set to compete in Kuortane Games which will take place on June 18th.

Later this year Neeraj is also scheduled to compete in 2022 World Athletics Championships in July, followed by the 2022 Commonwealth Games in August.