For the first time in four years, Neeraj Chopra will not have the tag of Olympic champion on him as he begins a new season, with the Doha Diamond League on Friday.
It's a whole new era for Neeraj, because in addition to losing his Olympic title, this is also the first time in a while that he isn't the best javelin thrower in the world. He's already taken the first step towards rectifying this by bringing in the greatest javelin thrower of all time - Jan Zelezny - as his coach.
This current field is among the most stacked javelin throw has ever seen. Not being the best in such a field is no shame, especially considering how long it has been since Neeraj last finished lower than second: 19 events and almost four years. Not since the Kuortane Games in 2021, where he finished third, has the Indian been not in the top two of the event.
It's not that the results have gotten away from him, but for an athlete as competitive as Neeraj, finishing second isn't a good result. And this is why the beginning of a new era is crucial. If the pressure after the Tokyo Games was for Neeraj to show the world that becoming Olympic champion was no flash in the plan, the pressure after Paris is to find a new peak.
90 is not just a landmark, it's a necessity
For the last few years, Neeraj has been rather philosophical about that 90m mark. His current personal best sits just 6 cm short of it. However, towards the end of his 2024 season, it was evident from his body language that it had become sort of an obsession. He barely allowed himself a smile after that silver in Paris, and then a week later was absolutely furious with himself for falling 51cm short of 90m at the Lausanne Diamond League.
It's fair to say that Neeraj's obsession with the 90m mark is not just because it's a landmark to hit. As it stands, throwing farther than 90m could well be a necessity to win big gold medals - like the World Championships, which will happen in Tokyo later this year, where he has a title to defend.
Neeraj's Olympic win in Tokyo came with a throw of 87.58m, his World Championship win in Budapest in 2023 came with a throw of 88.17m. However, Arshad Nadeem's monstrous 92.97m throw to win the Paris Olympics would've sent Neeraj a message; staying consistent in the high 80s is great, but 90s are now needed to win these events. Anderson Peters had hit 93m at the 2022 World Championships, and then an unfortunate brawl that led to an injury meant he had to take a couple of years to get back to his peak, which he has since done. He hit 90 at the Lausanne Diamond League last year.
Even on the worst of days, Neeraj has always been a high 80s thrower in big events. His floor is probably the highest there is in javelin today. The ceiling needs heightening. And who better to do it than the greatest javelin thrower of all time?
The Zelezny Factor
His new coach Zelezny had a whopping 52 throws over 90m+in his career - more than every other javelin thrower combined. In his quest to get there at least once, there is no better person for India's greatest ever to turn to.
Neeraj's partnership with the Czech world record holder began earlier this year, and it is one designed to propel him even further. Speaking after the Paris Olympics, Neeraj had said that he would not rest until he felt he had squeezed every last centimetre of the best throw his body had in it.
Zelezny is here to push him to those limits, perhaps through a few tweaks in his technique. Unlike some other elite athletes, Zelezny isn't just a big name who's taken a plunge into coaching. He has been in the loop, coaching Jakub Vadlejch, who along with Neeraj, was one of the most consistent throwers in the last Olympic cycle. He has what it takes to be right at the top of a javelin field, both as an athlete and as a coach.
After all those fruitful years with Klaus Bartonietz, perhaps a change to his elite environment is what Neeraj needs at this point in his career. After all, staying at the top is almost always tougher than getting there in the first place.
Of course, Neeraj's programme for 2025 is likely to be tuned to him being in peak condition for the World Championships in September. Having said that, a good start in Doha, perhaps even a record-breaking one, is what both him and Zelezny will be craving to ensure a momentous beginning to their partnership.