Neeraj Chopra Back in Training, Posts New Workout Video, WATCH

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was back training hard ahead of the start of the new athletics season.

Neeraj had recently taken time out of his busy schedule to cheer for the Indian under-19 women’s cricket team in the final of the inaugural age category T20 World Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Ahead of the final, which India won after beating England, Neeraj had spoken to the Shafali Verma-led team with anecdotes from his illustrious career.

On Sunday, the champion javelin thrower was back in training and posted a video of him throwing a medicine ball against a wall while hyper-extending the muscles in his backhand shoulders.

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Earlier, legendary American sprinter Michael Johnson was left amazed by Neeraj’s athleticism and movement on the track and even shared a video on social media. The javelin star had responded by jokingly enquiring about the sprinting calendar.

Neeraj had another historic year in 2022 as the Olympics gold medallist clinched silver at the World Championships to become only the second Indian after Anju Bobby George — who got bronze at the 2003 Paris edition — to win a medal at the showpiece. The 25-year-old also became the first Indian athlete to earn a Diamond League title with a throw of 88.44 meters. In fact, Neeraj had broken his own national record twice last year.

Neeraj toppling Usain Bolt as the most written-about athlete highlights the Indian star’s growing popularity across the globe. He though is choosing to remain humble: “It’s one thing to talk about an athlete and to talk about an athlete’s performance. The advantage is I am from India. There are so many people here and many conversations about sports. In terms of performance, I have a long way to go to catch up with Usain Bolt.”

When asked about his plans for the coming year, Neeraj had said in a recent interview that he hasn’t yet planned out his tournaments.

“We’ll (Neeraj and his coach Klaus Wolfermann) wait and see what happens with the Asian Games. With Covid-19 in China, we don’t know what’s happening there. Depending on the Asiad, I will decide whether to start my season in February or July, so I can peak at the right time.