‘Not far for Neeraj to cross 95 metres’: Paralympic double gold medalist Sumit Antil

SONIPAT(Haryana): India Paralympic double gold medalist javelin thrower Sumit Antil expressed happiness at world champion, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra crossing 90-metre mark recently, saying that touching 95-m mark is “not far” with world record holding coach Jan Zelezny by his side.

With world record holder Zelezny (98.48 m in 1996) by his side, Neeraj put an end to all talks around him crossing 90-m, touching 90.23 m during Doha Diamond League in May.

Speaking in an interview facilitated by Sun Pharma as a part of their #SecondBirthDate initiative, Sumit revealed his conversations with Neeraj and hailed him as the “most consistent” athlete he has ever seen.

“Neeraj and I talk a lot. We talk regularly. When he touched the 90-meter mark, I told him that, finally, the biggest question in his life had been answered. Finally, Neeraj has achieved it. We had full faith in him,” he said.

“The athletes know that it is only a matter of days. It can happen any day. After so many times, 88, 89, and 90, it can happen any day. We knew that Neeraj has a lot of motivation from his journey. As an elder brother, we talk a lot. Mostly, we talk about sports. What are the next targets? What is the goal? We keep inspiring each other,” he added.

Sumit also said that Neeraj is blessed to have Jan, who he called as “god of javelin throw” as his coach, who is an inspiration to all.

“As an athlete, it is not far for Neeraj to cross 95 meters. His technique is very good. I have been following him since 2017 when I joined Parasports and did a javelin throw as a game. I have seen positive changes in his run-up and other things,” he added.

Sumit hailed Neeraj’s consistency, saying that once he touches 95 metres, he would not throw below 90 metres at all.

“I have never seen such a consistent athlete in javelin throw. His coach and Neeraj himself are the best. There are many athletes who have crossed 95 meters once but have not been consistent,” he concluded.

Chopra reclaimed his number one spot in men’s javelin throw world rankings from Anderson Peters of Grenada following a string of brilliant performances on the international stage.

World Athletics updated the rankings earlier this week, increasing Neeraj’s points to 1,445 compared to Peters’ tally of 1,431, according to Olympics.com. Also, Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem sits at number four with 1,370 points to his name.

Neeraj lost his top spot to Peters back in September 2024, just shortly after the Paris Olympics, where he attained a silver medal with a throw of 89.45, and Peters took home the bronze.

The year 2025 has been incredible for Neeraj, as he kickstarted with a win at the Potch Invitational in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in April and followed it up with a very special second-place finish at Doha Diamond League, where he crossed the 90-metre mark for the first time ever with a throw of 90.23 m.

He also went on to secure a second spot in the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland later that month and resumed his winning ways with back-to-back titles at Paris Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike this month, with best efforts of 88.16 m and 85.29 m.

Neeraj Chopra Classic event at Bengaluru on July 5 will be his next outing. (ANI)