Here is why Neeraj Chopra is India’s best track & field athlete

If one needs confirmation on why Neeraj Chopra is regarded as the finest track and field athlete India has produced, the answer can be found in his response after his latest success in Ostrava.

The two-time Olympic medallist wasn't happy despite winning gold in the Golden Spike event in the Czech city. Chopra produced a best throw of 85.29 metres to win gold in the nine-man field. Later, he said, "I am not that happy with my performance today, but I am very happy with the trophy I won."

Chopra was disappointed because he expects better from him each time, and mediocrity is not his thing. "I know the javelin throw is very popular in Czechia. The amount of support we were getting from the crowd was crazy. I just wish I could have performed better for them," he said.

Only four days ago, Chopra threw 88.16 metre to be placed first in the Paris Diamond League. He famously breached the 90-metre mark (90.23m) in the Doha Diamond League in May.

At Ostrava, Chopra recorded his best throw in the third round after opening throwing 83.45 m on his second attempt. He produced two more valid throws of 82.17 m and 81.01 m. South African Douw Smit (84.12) and Grenada's Anderson Peters (83.63) took silver and bronze respectively in the event.

"I used to watch this meeting a lot as a kid. I watched people like Jan Zelezny and Usain Bolt winning the Golden Spike and I dreamt of winning one as well. Now the dream has come true," said the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medallist.

The 27-year-old will be next seen in action in his dream endeavour, the Neeraj Chopra Classic at Bengaluru on July 5. Fans of Chopra will be hoping to see him hit the 90 metre mark on home turf.