Watch: Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra sweats it out in the gym ahead of World Championships

With the Budapest World Athletics Championships just a fortnight away, India’s golden boy Neeraj Chopra is putting his all-in, training to get ready for the occasion.

In a clip tweeted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Tuesday, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medallist was seen performing snatches at the gym.

Full swing: In preparation for Budapest World Athletics Championships,
Olympic champion @Neeraj_chopra1 sweating in the gym. pic.twitter.com/28KQNtFqAF

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) July 25, 2023

The world No 1 Javelin thrower is just coming out of the prestigious Lausanne Diamond League late last month, where he won the title for the second time running. However, his 87.66m throw was below his own top-ten efforts as he was just coming out of an injury lay-off.

“I was feeling a bit nervous coming back from an injury. It was a bit cold here tonight. I am still far from my best, but I feel it is getting better,” Chopra said after his win.

He later admitted that his fitness was a “bit low” and it kept him in a dilemma whether go all in or not in Lausanne.

“Overall, my fitness level was a bit low (in Lausanne). Because of the injury, there was a question mark on my mind also whether I am 100 per cent fit or not, whether I have to push myself or not,” he said.

However, the Lausanne experience had laid bare the situation for Chopra and he decided to focus entirely on the World Championships and even skip a couple of international events in the interim.

“I need to improve my fitness, work on it (fitness) through training so that I can give my best at the World Championships and fulfil the dream of winning gold there,” he said.

Chopra sustained a muscle strain after he won the season-opening Diamond League in Doha on 5 May with his fourth career-best throw of 88.67m.

The injury forced him to skip three top events before the Lausanne Diamond League in June.