'Winning the Golden Spike dream has come true': Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Chopra’s heroes: Javelin legend Jan Zelezny (left) and sprint star Usain Bolt

Neeraj Chopra may have clinched the Golden Spike title in his maiden appearance at the meet, but the Tokyo Olympics champion was far from satisfied with his performance.

Chopra's best throw of 85.29m was enough to secure the win in a nine-man field at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event here on Tuesday.

"I'm not that happy with my performance today, but I'm very happy with the trophy I have won," said Chopra.

India's Neeraj Chopra during the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

"I used to watch this meet a lot as a kid. I watched people like Jan Zelezny and Usain Bolt winning the Golden Spike and dreamt of winning one as well. That dream has come true," added double Olympic-medallist.

Zelezny, Chopra's current coach, holds the record for the longest throw at the Golden Spike meet. The Czech javelin star had hurled his spear to a distance of 94.96m in 1996. Meanwhile, Bolt holds the 300m sprint record here, clocking 30.97 seconds, in the 2010 edition. Though he led the field, Chopra felt he didn't live up to his own expectations, especially, in front of a packed crowd. "I know javelin throw is very popular here. The amount of support we were getting from the crowd was crazy. I wish I could've performed better for them," said Chopra, who breached the 90m mark during his second-place finish at the Doha Diamond League in May.

Chopra recorded his winning effort in the third round after opening with a foul throw and a second throw of 83.45m. He followed up with 82.17m and 81.01m before another foul in the final round.

Despite a modest mark by his standards, the Chopra, 27, kept up his form this season, coming off a Diamond League win in Paris a few days earlier. Chopra's next outing will be his own event, the NC Classic in Bengaluru on July 5, where Grenada's Anderson Peters and Germany's Thomas Rohler are also expected to compete.

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