Neeraj Chopra's feat will inspire more junior champions in India, says Shivpal Singh
Singh speaks about his Indian compatriot Neeraj Chopra and his own experience at Tokyo 2020
Indian Olympian Shivpal Singh believes that his compatriot Neeraj Chopra's gold medal-winning feat at Tokyo 2020 has given javelin a shot in the arm in his home country. He, however, admitted that Chopra rose above expectations in Tokyo to clinch the gold medal.
All eyes were on World No.1 and 2017 World Champion Johannes Vetter at the men's javelin throw final event at Tokyo 2020. But the German's best attempt was 82.52m and he finished a disappointing ninth in humid conditions in Tokyo.
Chopra, meanwhile, threw the spear to 87.58m in the second attempt to seal India's first-ever track and field medal at Olympics. It was also only the second overall individual gold for India after Abhinav Bindra's at Beijing 2008.
"Neeraj Chopra was extremely happy but we never expected a gold medal. We were thinking about a medal but after (Johannes) Vetter was eliminated, we were sure that the gold medal belonged to us," Singh told Olympics.com.
"I think it is a big thing for all the javelin throwers in India and they will benefit from it. The juniors will take inspiration from it and bring more medals for the country in future events."
Singh, on a personal front, was disappointed with his performance in Tokyo as he could not replicate his personal best of 86.23m achieved at the 2019 Asian Championships in Khalifa International Stadium, Doha. He, in fact, even failed to qualify for the final in his maiden Olympic appearance as his best throw landed at 76.40m.
"It was a huge experience for me to qualify and take part at Tokyo 2020 but somewhere I am disappointed that I could not replicate my performance from Asian Championships two years ago and the Tokyo 2020 qualification event," Singh said.
A persistent shoulder injury since 2017 has knocked back the second-best javelin thrower in India currently.
"The main aim is to be fit. If I did not have the shoulder injury and was fully fit, then, maybe I could have achieved a podium finish at Tokyo 2020."
Singh, now, is now eying the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) and Asian Games but doesn't want to be in a rush to resume his training before returning to full fitness.