Bengaluru, 10 Aug

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will breach the 90-metre mark soon as he is committed to the sport, said his former coach Subedar Kashinath Naik, who hails from Sirsi of Uttara Kannada district, on Saturday.

On Thursday, Chopra made history by becoming the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two successive Olympic medals, securing a silver in men's javelin throw at the Paris Olympics.

“It’s a proud moment for me as a coach, seeing Chopra create history,” said Naik, who coached the Haryana athlete from January 2015 to October 2016 at Army Sports Institute in Pune. “He was unfortunate not to clinch gold in Paris, and narrowly missed the 90m mark. Yet, despite all his success, Chopra remains humble and grounded,” Naik told Salar News from Pune.

Naik is the country’s first Commonwealth Games javelin throw medallist, having won a Bronze in the 2010 edition in New Delhi.

“Chopra’s confidence and dedication set him apart from other athletes,” Naik said. “His self-belief has only grown since he first trained under me in 2016. When an athlete consistently throws near the 90m mark, their confidence is naturally high. Chopra has that, along with incredible arm speed, which gives him an edge.”

Naik also praised Chopra's unwavering dedication to his training. “Many athletes become complacent after winning a medal, but not Chopra. He won’t stop until he reaches that 90-meter milestone,” he said.

Reflecting on the final where Chopra narrowly missed the gold to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, Naik commented, “Nadeem was the only real competition for Chopra’s gold. But for all of us, Neeraj Chopra will always be the golden boy of Indian athletics.”–Salar News