Neeraj Chopra, who clinched a silver medal at the prestigious Diamond League meet in Stockholm on Thursday, said that despite not winning a gold he is happy with the results.
Neeraj threw 89.94 meters at the meet and while doing so he broke his own national record, which was made on June 14.
“I am happy with my performance… It was quite close to 90m, I had a feeling that it would go beyond it but that did not happen,” Neeraj Chopra told reporters.
Speaking about what was going through his mind when Anderson Peters made a throw of over 90m in his third attempt, Neeraj said, “When Anderson Peters crossed 90m, I also thought I should also do it. I wanted everything to be perfect, when everything is perfect you can throw well. I am happy with the result at this meet. All my throws were good.”
The Diamond League silver medallist said he has no idea about his chances at Oregon.
“I have no idea about my chances of winning at Oregon as every competition is different. And only when I take part in that competition, then I will know whether I face the pressure of being an Olympic champion. I never feel under pressure, I compete with a free mind and with ease,” he said.
“It is good that people are watching athletics online in India. It felt great that many Indians had come to watch the tournament,” he added.
Neeraj’s throw was the tournament’s record too, until reigning world champion Anderson Peters breached the 90m mark as he threw 90.31m on his third try to set a new meet record.
Neeraj failed to improve his first attempt and settled for a silver medal. His other throws were 84.37m, 87.46m, 84.77m, 86.67 and 86.84m. Peters clinched the gold medal while Julian Weber of Germany bagged the bronze after throwing 89.08m in his fifth attempt.
The next target for the Tokyo Olympics champion will be the World Championships in Eugene in the USA, starting from July 15 to 24. (ANI)
