New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) A day after returning to action with a fourth-place finish in the Wanda Diamond League event in Doha, India’s legendary javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra expressed satisfaction with his performance and said he is looking forward to the remaining season.

Speaking at the inaugural Indian Athletics Awards in New Delhi, Chopra expressed happiness at achieving the qualification mark for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

“I am very happy with my performance because I was returning from an injury and competed after a long time. I am pleased with how I performed. This was my first competition of the year, and the rest of the season is still ahead of me,” said Chopra, who made history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, told IANS on Saturday.

After his encouraging performance on return, Chopra is looking forward to the remaining events in the season. “The momentum takes time to develop. Some throws were good, and some were not good due to distance. So I was fouling them. But as my sessions will be harder and I will work with Javelin more, I will be able to follow those things better,” said Chopra.

In the final of the Diamond League event in Doha, Neeraj Chopra produced a best throw of 85.69 metres to finish fourth behind Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (88.96 m), former Olympic champion Anderson Peters of Granada (86.38), and Curtis Thompson of the United States, who ended third with a throw of 85.99m.

Chopra also expressed his elation over the Athletics Federation of India honouring athletes, current and past, coaches, mentors, and administrators for their contribution to the sport in the Indian Athletics Awards on Saturday.

“I am very happy that the Athletics Federation of India has given such an opportunity to everyone. It was very nice to meet the old athletes and new talents. I enjoyed it a lot,” said Neeraj Chopra.

On Saturday, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) presented the Indian Athletics Awards, felicitating legendary athlete and current President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), PT Usha, with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

–IANS

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