Neeraj Chopra | Will never say I am the greatest of all time
There is hardly any doubt that there isn't a finer athlete in India than Neeraj Chopra. After winning the Olympics gold medal, and Diamond League final, he completed his set with the World Championships gold on Sunday and is raring to go for more.
Yet, the 25-year-old does not want to get into the debate of, if he is the best-ever. “I will never say this, the greatest of all time. People say that just the world Championships gold is missing. I won it now but I have many things left to do and I will focus on that. I would not like to say this (greatest of all time).
“If you want to say greatest of all time, it would have to be like Jan Zelezny," he said in the context of world record holder in javelin.
Zelezny for the record, is the world record holder in the event and has won three Olympic titles, as well as three World Championships. “Olympics was very special and World Championships is a big title. If you talk competition-wise, World Championships is always tougher than Olympics. All the athletes come prepared for this.
“Many people came from India here and local public support was also great. This win is special." He also praised fellow finalists DP Manu and Kisore Jena, who finished in top 6. “Kishore Jena and DP Manu also did very well (finished fifth and sixth). Our athletics is growing. But we have to do a lot of work also. I spoke to Adille sir (AFI president) about the Mondo tracks here and hoping that we will also have this in India just like here. We will do even better in coming years," Chopra added.