With legendary Jan Zelezny in his corner, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra has evolved from chasing the 90m barrier last year to treating it as the norm in the 2025 athletics season.
On Friday, Neeraj got the better of Germany’s Julian Weber for the first time this year with an 88.16m throw at the Paris Diamond League. However, the reigning javelin throw world champion revealed that he had more to give.
“I was hoping for over 90m today, but my run-up was very fast and I couldn’t control my speed,” Neeraj told Olympics.com. “Still, I’m very happy with the position as I won a Diamond League again after a long time.”
He had breached the elusive 90m mark last month with a 90.23m throw and reset the Indian national record at the Doha Diamond League but Weber won the meet with a personal best of 91.06m and pushed Neeraj to second spot.
Neeraj Chopra said working with Czech legend Jan Železný has brought more than just technical improvements to his training, highlighting the deeper impact on his overall approach.
“We are working on some techniques, and I’m very happy to work with him now,” he said. “If I’m training under Jan, I have to throw over 90m – he’s done it more than 52 times.”
Neeraj Chopra has been training under Jan Zelezny – widely regarded as the greatest javelin thrower of the modern era – for the 2025 season. The legendary Czech holds the javelin world record with a throw of 98.48m, set in 1996.
Neeraj, who had six throws in the 89m range under former coach Klaus Bartonietz before finally breaching 90m, was asked whether breaking the world record is on his radar.
“First, I have to break some of his (lesser) records. The stadium record (in Paris of 91.40m set in 1993) belonged to my coach. I told him I felt good today but it’s really hard to beat him,” Chopra said.
“He’s thrown 98m, and so many over 90. Maybe once I hit 95m, then I can start to say something – but right now, I need to keep working.”
That work continues at the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet in Czechia, scheduled on June 24, followed by the NC Classic at home in early July.
Neeraj’s season is also shaping into a steady build-up to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where he won Olympic gold in 2021.
“The main target this year is the World Championships in Tokyo. I did really well there during the Olympics, and it’s a stadium that feels special to me,” the Indian javelin ace said.
The World Championships will be held from September 13 to 21. At Budapest 2023, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in the competition’s history.
“I won’t say I’m aiming for gold – I just want to give my best without putting pressure on myself. At every new competition, I don’t think too much about what I’ve done before – I just focus on the present day,” Neeraj concluded.
