It’s just a matter of time before Chopra delivers at big stage again: Anju Bobby George
Chopra, who recovered from her back injury before the Tokyo World Championships in September 2025, started the season late in the Doha Diamond League and finished fourth with a throw of 85.69m.
Read more: Who is Ancy Sojan? Indian athlete who broke Anju Bobby George’s long jump national record at the age of 22
The 28-year-old two-time Olympic medalist recently confirmed that she will participate in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.
“I think Neeraj, when the competition gets tougher, will respond well to it. He is an Olympic champion and world championship medalist. I mean, this is something no Indian has done. Yes, this experience will speak for itself in due time,” world championship bronze medalist long jumper Anju told PTI in an interview.
“He has been on the international stage for almost 10 years. We cannot say that he is not in very good form or that he is not in good form. He gave enough in his prime, he is still in his prime. He has done a lot for us. Let him enjoy the game now.”
Chopra won the gold medal with a throw of 88.88 meters at the last Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China in 2023. In Aichi-Nagoya, Chopra is expected to face rising Sri Lankan star Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, who broke the 90m barrier earlier this year and won two Diamond League titles, including Doha, where Chopra finished fourth.
Anju, meanwhile, believed that her 22-year-old national record in the long jump was always breakable and relied on two jumpers – her own student Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan from her native Kerala – to erase her mark.
“I was expecting Shaili or Ancy to break my record because this year is the Asian Games or Commonwealth Games where athletes always give their best. But I was expecting a good jump from Shaili since 2021 when she started performing at the international level. Finally, Ancy was able to do it. Records need to be broken. I think Shaili will also come close to it or break it soon,” he said.
“But yes, 22 years is a long time. Someone has to come and break it because when I come out of the competition, it is public, anyone can come and break it. I enjoy the rivalry between the two. I have known him (Ancy) since he was very little. He is from Kerala again. So you know, the jumpers mostly come from Kerala.
“Yes, he is a very hard-working and very aggressive competitor. He was very close to that goal many times. He did 6.75 recently, so I was expecting Shaili or Ancy to perform well.”
He pointed out that his ward Shaili was equally talented.
“Shaili is very young, 21 years old. Her problem is that she is not consistent in her approach. She kept changing her approach style. And finally we settled on a style and in this competition (National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar) she stuck to it and was able to achieve at least a score of 6.67.
Anju said, “He needs to improve this approach further. And I feel he is a 7-plus jumper. And he will tap into that soon.” he said.
Recalling how she broke the record at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Anju said: “Yes, it’s almost a 22-year waiting period. I started in 2004, I opened my jumps in the Diamond League, I won gold medals in Doha with 6.83, Pryfon and Eugene, and in the same year, I did it for the third time at the Athens Olympics with 6.83.
“Although I managed to go over 7 meters many times, unfortunately I couldn’t do it.
“But yes, 22 years is a long time. Someone should come and break it because when I leave the competition it is open to the public, anyone can break it. Also between 2004 and 2008 I was going over seven meters many times in competitions and training, but unfortunately I could not mark this valid jump during the competition.”
When asked about Sarvesh Kushare’s record-breaking effort in the men’s high jump, Anju said: “I am happy that he has been training at my academy for the last few months. He is an outstanding jumper, good talent, very disciplined, focused. He can improve further and yes, 2.30 is not a small thing. He can fight for a World Championship or Olympic medal.”
Anju George also emphasized that India’s standard in athletics is improving rapidly.
“This is actually what we planned, what the AFI planned 10 years ago. And this is the result, what we can see, what we see now. This is not in one event. Earlier it was only in one or two events, like long jump, then javelin, but now athletes are performing well in almost all competitions. We are performing world-class in long-distance running, pole vault, even high jump.”
Read more: ‘Disbelief’ in India camp after Ireland debacle
Anju also stated that AFI’s gamble of stopping national camps has paid off.
“When we decided to stop camps, national camps and athletes started going, athletes started finding their own training venues across multiple academies and multiple locations, everyone was a little skeptical. But the AFI showed that this would help athletes do their best. So we did that and this is the result of what we’re seeing now.” PTI SR SSC SSC
