Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday said he has set his sights on breaking the Olympic record to go with his gold medal-winning feat at the Tokyo Games.
Neeraj, who has a personal best of 88.07m, clinched a historic gold with an effort of 87.58m. The Olympic record stands at 90.57m, set by Andreas Thorkildsen in Beijing 2008.
Neeraj said it would be great to add another feather to his cap.
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“An Olympic gold medal is the ultimate. But in athletics, you can add one more thing to your gold medal — an Olympic record,” the 23-year-old said during his maiden trip to Kolkata after becoming the first Indian to win an Olympic gold in athletics.
“I’ve the National record (88.07m), while the Olympic record is 90.57. If I can go a step further, it would be an Olympic gold with a personal best and an Olympic record,” he said.
Neeraj, who is here on a two-day visit for a felicitation programme, was honoured by the Kolkata Police.
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“I’m meeting new people everyday, attending so many functions. The biggest change I see is for the Olympic sport. I always knew it would be a different atmosphere when I return home,” he said.
“It’s a great thing that people are now keenly following Olympic sports. I hope Indian sports achieves greater heights,” he said.
“I will start training soon, and will focus on my real work then,” he said.
The javelin champion was earlier felicitated by West Bengal MOS for sports and youth affairs Manoj Tiwary.