Neeraj Chopra wins Golden Spike despite personal disappointment

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

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

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

"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," the double Olympic medalist added.

Though he led the field, Chopra admitted he fell short of his own expectations, especially in front of a packed crowd.

"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," said Chopra, who breached the elusive 90m mark during his second-place finish in the Doha Diamond League in May.

Chopra recorded his winning effort in the third round after opening with a foul and a second throw of 83.45 m.

He followed up with 82.17 m and 81.01 m before another foul in the final round.

Despite a modest mark by his high standards, the 27-year-old continued his strong form this season, coming off a Diamond League win in Paris just days earlier.

His next outing will be at the NC Classic in Bengaluru on July 5, where Anderson Peters and Thomas Rohler are also expected to compete.