I will keep pushing myself till I play, says World champion Neeraj Chopra

The impact of Neeraj's Olympic gold helped India push new boundaries and give a new belief that Indian athletes can believe in achieving big things

Hyderabad: Reigning Olympic, World champion and Asian Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra said that he will keep pushing himself as long as he plays and win medals for the country.

The star athlete is in tremendous form in this season and was confident of breaching the coveted 90-metre mark. However, injuries pulled him back a bit. But he continued his form on the field winning a gold medal in the recently-concluded Asian Games where India scripted history by winning 107 medals.

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“Yes, I was confident that I would breach the 90-metre mark this season. But injuries are part of the game. Still I kept pushing myself and won gold medals. We will go step by step and I am sure I will breach the 90-metre mark,” he said.

Neeraj was happy that India is growing as a sporting nation and it was evident from the Asian Games. “We had won 70 medals in the last edition and now we have won 107 medals. That is a huge improvement. It won’t happen overnight. We are growing as a sporting nation. Not just athletics, India won medals from multiple disciplines. Shooters, Archery and all other sports did well to win medals for the country. It is a good sign going into the Olympics next year,” said the 25-year-old while speaking after inaugurating the Under Armour store in Hyderabad on Monday.

The only track and field athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics said it is not tough to keep motivated. “There are many athletes like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt who have won multiple medals at the Olympics. The competitions keep happening throughout the year. So we are always motivated. I want to extend my career as long as possible and keep pushing myself.”

The impact of Neeraj’s Olympic gold helped India push new boundaries and give a new belief that Indian athletes can believe in achieving big things. However, Neeraj felt that the Indian athletes always had the quality. “Yes, I feel happy when track and field athletes come to me and say that ”your gold has given us a lot of belief”. But India always had athletes who are world champions. Abhinav Bindra, PV Sindhu have won medals in their disciplines. The athletes are now more strong mentally and believe that they can achieve anything.”

When asked about his advice to youngsters, he said,”Patience is the key. It took me three years to compete in international events and six to seven years to win a medal. So we have to be patient and stay true to our goal. Whatever you do, if you give your 100 per cent and stay committed to it, you will achieve results.”

The Haryana lad, who visited Hyderabad in 2015 when he was competing in under-20 category, said that the city has changed a lot. “When I was here last time, we visited a few places. Now, the city has grown a lot and changed a lot with big buildings and constructions. The sport is also growing here. I am delighted to visit the athletics track in Gachibowli stadium, Gopichand Academy and basketball academies,” he concluded.