Neeraj Chopra Becoming World Champion Not Surprising, Says Coach

As praises continue to shower on javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra for becoming India's first world champion in athletics, one man who isn't surprised even one bit is his coach, Australian  Garry  Calvert. "Everything Neeraj has done is planned, none of this is by accident," Calvert told NDTV from Bydgoszcz in Poland, where the 19 year old threw a mammoth 86.48m to win gold at the Under-20 World Championships.

"We did really good training in the last four weeks and he's had good competition as well. His training pattern indicates that he what he does there, if he applies during competition, he would come up with what we call a monster throw. So it didn't come to me as a surprise at all," said Calvert.

Calvert, who boasts of four decades of coaching experience, started work with the Indian youngster earlier this year, February to be specific. Among the many athletes he has trained is Australia's Jarrod Bannister who is 2008 threw a mega 89.02m.

"Most throwers in an attempt to throw the javelin as quickly as possible, don't draw their throwing arm as far as they can," says the 61 year old.  

"The longer they delay releasing their arm, the more distance they can get. It's something you keep trying to drill into an athlete's head. Today, just the best five throwers in the world have that quality, and Neeraj is one of them."

Chopra isn't too disappointed that his record breaking performance didn't come in time for qualification for the Rio Olympics. "Yes, I'm sad, but not too much," he told NDTV from Poland.

"This is also a very big world event, and I was happy to  hear the national anthem because of my efforts. I will go to the Olympics four years later, and hopefully do well for India."

Qualifying for Rio though never was his coach's No. 1 agenda. "When we started the season we had very specific goals in mind," Calvert says. "The U20 Worlds in Poland was on top of the list and we've managed to achieve that."

Chopra's unassuming attitude is what sets him apart from other throwers, Calvert says. "His personality is humble, and he is mostly quiet and focused about his work, which is a rare quality in throwers. If he retains that quality, I see Neeraj going very far."