New resolutions might be the norm at this time of the year, but Neeraj Chopra opted out of making any this January. It's a lesson he had learned the hard way. "I made no plans for this new year. At the start of 2019, I had made all these plans, that this year I was going to do all these things, that I was going to take part in all these competitions. I had made a plan for what I was going to do in 2020. And all that ended in nothing. So now I don't make any more plans. The last time I made big plans, nothing went according to them. So this time I'm just focusing on my day-to-day training," he says.
The 22-year-old had entered 2019 as the brightest prospect in Indian athletics, having won gold medals in the javelin throw at the 2018 Commonwealth and Asian Games, setting a national record en route victory in the latter. 2019 was to be the year he set his athletic base for the Tokyo Olympics, register a throw that would qualify him for those Games and perhaps even make a mark at the World Championships in Doha.
None of those plans would amount to anything. Chopra was troubled by a niggling injury in the elbow of his throwing arm. In May, he finally underwent surgery to treat the wound - ruling him out of the World Championships. He wouldn't compete in a single competition the entire year - leaving his Olympic ambitions hanging in the balance.
Eight months since he went under the knife and 16 months since he last threw the spear in competition, Chopra seems to have finally ended his run of rotten luck. On Tuesday, Chopra who was competing at the ACNE League meeting in the South African city of Potchefstroom, recorded a throw of 87.86m beyond the 85m mark that would qualify him for the Olympics.
While Chopra was one of just five athletes taking part in the event, officials suggested that the competition was an official one. "This was an official meeting sanctioned by Athletics South Africa, held under Athletics South Africa and World Athletics rules and regulations," says Sifiso Cele, media manager with Athletics South Africa. This, in turn, would mean that Chopra had booked his place at the Tokyo Olympics.
That would be a huge burden off his shoulders. "I was getting a little worried about qualifying," admits Chopra. "The last year had gone without me taking part in a single competition and there were just a few months left to go for qualification. There's not much time for the Olympics. So it feels great that I have been able to qualify in time," he says.
After a year of inactivity on the field, Chopra says he's simply grateful to have finally got his Olympic preparations back on track. "When I first picked up the injury, I didn't think it would take that long to recover. It took a really long time. I thought I would be fit by the time of the World Championships and perhaps I would even get a chance to compete in a couple of Diamond League competitions," he says.
The fact that his injury - in the elbow joint of his throwing arm - was in the most critical bit of a javelin thrower's anatomy, complicated matters further. "If it was another sport maybe this injury wouldn't have taken that long to heal but javelin throw is one event that puts a lot of stress on the elbow. I was able to carry on my strength training but I wasn't able to throw the javelin at all. There was a lot of fear in my mind because the elbow joint is very small and there is a lot of force that goes through that joint when you throw. So I was very nervous when I was putting pressure on it," he admits.
The long period in which he couldn't even throw the javelin, was frustrating, but Chopra says the fact that he could continue to train the rest of his body helped. "It was very disappointing but the way to deal with that disappointment is to stay as happy as possible. Khush raho. The main thing is to keep training. If I was able to keep training, I was able to stay happy. Even if I couldn't compete, I was happy that I was at least able to keep training. If I was doing nothing, it would have been bad, but half the motivation comes from the fact that you are doing some sort of training. My elbow was taking time to heal but I continued to train the rest of my body and I could see that I was improving there. The explosive training was going well, so I was getting a lot of confidence from that," he says.
Chopra, who had split from national coach Uwe Hohn and started working with biomechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz, had shifted to train in South Africa in December last year and while his physical conditioning was steadily improving, he was itching to get throwing competitively again. "When I returned from surgery, I was thinking I had to start throwing with a little less strain and if it was not hurting, i would put more effort. I was able to put a lot more effort in South Africa because the weather here is warmer so it's easier to get warmed up," he says.
The initial plan was for him to return to competition in April but with his elbow feeling strong, Chopra and his coach decided to take part in the small competition in Potchefstroom. "I was first thinking I would start competing in April. But I also felt that it had been nearly a year and a half without competing. So I felt I wanted to take part in at least a few small competitions. I was making some good throws in training, so I felt that if I was feeling good, I would put a little more effort in competition. I sat with the coach and decided I was going to take part in this," he says.
Chopra says he didn't register himself thinking he would match the Olympic qualifying standard but after his first few throws of 81.63m, 82.00m and 82.57m he felt emboldened to push his elbow even further. "When I made the fourth attempt, I knew it was big because the javelin left my hand well. It took some time for them to measure the throw and initially I thought it was around 84 or 85m. But when they finally measured it, the throw came to 87.86m. After that I didn't take my last two throws because I didn't want to put more stress on my elbow," says Chopra.
Chopra will get the opportunity to test his arm in more competitions over the next few months. "The fact that he has matched the qualification standard so early in the season means he's taken a lot of pressure off himself. He can focus just on carrying his recovery process systematically," says Volker Herrmann, the high performance director of the Athletics Federation of India. Chopra, for his part, is eager to make up for lost time. "I'm looking forward to taking part in the Federation Cup in India and also some Diamond League competitions over the next few months," he says.
There's another task on his mind as well though. That 87.86m throw, in what is his first competition in nearly a year and a half is even more impressive when you consider this is the second best throw of his career, just behind the 88.06m monster that won him a gold at the Asian Games in 2018. But Chopra is already looking ahead. Just after that competition he had mentioned his goal was to break the 90m barrier before the Olympics and that target has not changed. "After throwing 87m, it doesn't seem like so much to throw another 3 meters. But it's actually feels a lot more. But my body is responding well and my elbow is feeling good. If I get the line of my throw set up, it's not going to be a big challenge. I'll get that throw in," he says.