‘Bittersweet experience’

Neeraj Chopra during the Diamond League in Doha on Friday. Pic/Getty Images

Relieved, happy, but a touch disappointed too, Indian javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra went through a whole gamut of emotions after breaching the 90-metre mark.

Nevertheless, he will strive to go farther as his body is now largely rid of the niggles that plagued him over the past few years.

The 27-year-old two-time Olympic-medallist notched his personal best of 90.23m at the third time of asking in the Diamond League season-opener here on Friday. However, he ended up finishing second after Germany's Julian Weber took the top spot with a 91.06m effort in his final throw.

"I am very happy with the 90m mark, but it's a little bit of a bittersweet experience actually [since he finished second]. But my coach [Jan Zelezny] and I are still working on some aspects of my throw," said Chopra.

He also revealed that he had been nursing a groin injury which was affecting his performance in the last few years, but now he's in much better shape. "I was always feeling something in my groin in the last few years. I did not give my best because of that. This year I feel much better. So, I believe I can throw more than 90m in the upcoming events," the Haryana-born athlete said.

Chopra became the third Asian athlete and 25th overall to cross the 90m mark.

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