Neeraj Chopra’s hallmark celebration involves him waiting till the javelin enters its downward path and then turning around to face the fans and raising his arms and exulting. A no-look statement even before the javelin hits the green patch. This happens when he inherently knows it’s a big throw. His competitors often have to play catch up once this happens.
On a cool evening in Turku, Chopra’s arms went up in the air once he released the javelin in the third round. He didn’t turn around this time, but followed the 800 gram spear till it landed. With 85.97 metres, Neeraj took back the lead from Finland’s Oliver Helander, one of the three homeboys at the Paavo Nurmi Games.
Returning to competition after skipping the Ostrava Golden Spike event because of an adductor muscle niggle (not an injury, as he insisted), Neeraj did a Neeraj thing – did enough to win. 83.62m, 83.45, 85.97, 82.21, X and 82.97 was a consistent series of throws. A nearly 86-metre throw for a win bodes well before the Paris Diamond League meet in early July, his final competition before the Paris Olympics.
Yet, there was a shake of the head, a pursed lip looking skywards at the end of the competition. Perhaps the last two rounds soured his mood a bit. Maybe he anticipated a better throw, he could have been unhappy with the release angle. Perhaps he had to strain himself more than he expected to emerge with the win, even though three potential challengers at the Paris Olympics either withdrew or didn’t enter.
Locked in 🔐
Olympic and world champ @Neeraj_chopra1 secures his win in Turku with a throw at 85.97 💪#ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/liBsllvyhL
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) June 18, 2024
Despite 2022 World Champion Anderson Peters having a poor day, the Finns were putting up a fight, so this wasn’t an easy day for Neeraj. In the fourth round, Toni Keränen, another Finnish thrower, moved into second place with a personal best 84.19 metres to push down Helander to third spot. With two more rounds remaining the two Finns were the ones Chopra had to watch out for.
A bigger throw from Neeraj was on the cards, to put some distance between him and the eager Finns, backed by a good turnout. But excess elevation and a sudden drop in altitude saw the javelin just cross the 80 metre mark. Neeraj frowned and stepped on the line to trigger an intentional foul.
In the final round, the 20-year-old German Max Dehning the wunderkid and the youngest to throw over 90 metres (who had an underwhelming outing with a best of 79.84m) was the only athlete other than Neeraj to produce a legal throw.
Neeraj competitive juices flowed till the very last round. He signalled to the spectators, demanding a resounding cheer. He bellowed and then took a deep breath. Helander and Dehning and others clapped as he picked up speed on the runway. 82.97 metres flashed on the screen, his second best throw of the day. He completed all his six throws without any visible discomfort.
With just over a month of the Paris Olympics, Turku was an important stopover for Neeraj. His last competition, not on his schedule initially, was the Federation Cup in Bhubaneshwar. He won gold with 82.27 metres and skipped his last two attempts, so Tuesday was a big upgrade. He participated in Bhubaneshwar, four days after the Diamond League. Just a week later, he said that he was skipping Ostrava meet to not take any risks.
An 88.36 metres at the Doha Diamond League in May was a bright start for Neeraj. The defending champion will enter the Paris Olympics with four competitions under his belt. That he can clinch a win even when not at his best was proven once again in Turku. That in itself is a big win, even if there was no big throw from the 26-year-old Indian superstar at the Paavo Nurmi Games.