Neeraj says he has work to do ahead of Tokyo Worlds

Few javelin throwers in recent history have been able to put Neeraj Chopra under pressure.

- Shantanu Srivastava

Fewer still have proved to be insurmountable and only two— ‘Arshad Nadeem at last year’s Paris Olympics and Julian Weber at Diamond League Final on Thursday—have made him look ordinary. In Zurich, Chopra appeared uncharacteristically off-colour and up until his final attempt, his four-year streak of top-two finishes looked to have run its course.

Opening with a moderate 84.35m, the 27-year-old could never really hit the top gear as his natural rhythm seemed to have deserted him. Chopra also had three fouls to his name, the most in the competition, a further affirmation of his struggles.

He eventually willed himself fora 85.01m effort in his sixth and final go, his best of the night, that pushed him a rung above Kes-horn Walcott who was in the second position until then with an 84.95m effort. That late charge apart, Chopra, who is in the midst of a technical overhaul under coach Jan Zelezny, looked far from ready.

“The timing was not so good. The run-up was not so good. There is something I didn’t find today, but I still have three weeks for the World Championships, and I will try my best,” Chopra said after the event.