Neeraj Chopra Targets Medal at 2020 Tokyo Olympics

After missing out on a Rio Olympic berth, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday said he is targeting a medal for India at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The Panipat-born athlete recently created history by winning the gold medal at the U-20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, the first Indian to do so. He also set a new junior world record and senior national record in the process.

Chopra threw a stupendous 86.48 metres in his second attempt to achieve the feat. However, with the deadline for qualification to Rio Olympics over on July 18, Chopra will no longer be able to participate at the Games this year.

"I was disappointed to miss out on Rio Olympics berth but the federation is still trying for a wildcard entry. If it comes through then fine but otherwise I am ready to work hard and win a medal for my country at 2020 Olympics," Neeraj told reporters.

"I had a back injury in April and it affected my Olympic preparation. At Poland, I had a targetted gold medal but I am happy that I eclipsed the world record, I had worked hard for it. My confidence was high for the event. But I never thought I will break the world record."

Neeraj's throw makes him the eighth best among all throwers this season, and first among the junior throwers.

"I am from a normal Haryana family. I had to struggle early in my life when I had to travel for long hours but now I am training at Patiala and federation is also sending us to train outside. I will be training for World Championship next year," he said.

His coach Garry Calvert also praised his student.

"He has a superior technique for his age and his whole character, he applies himself better than most. Now we have to go back to the drawing board and get more power and strength to match the men in the world.

"We saw this threw coming for 6-7 weeks. It was brewing while in Europe competing, he was performing at a high level.

His worst throw was 79m which shows that we were on target. So we knew if he applies himself at qualifying round, he hit big position under massive pressure.

"The next stage is to reach 90-95m. I am trying to teach the Indian throwers not to think of distance but to think of execution of technique. The expectation was he will win but what we are happy about is that the throw was the end result of doing the movement properly," he said.

Asked what struck him about Neeraj, the Australian said: "He leaves his arm back, keeps it way back and throws his body. That is an exceptional skill. He does it naturally. His arm stays back and body attacks.

With inputs from PTI.