Moments before her event, Japjeet Kaur was watching videos of world record holder Jan Železný of the Czech Republic and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. Inspired by the javelin greats, she went on to strike gold at the 41st National Junior Athletics Championships in Chennai, setting a personal best of 39.96 metres.
Japjeet said, “Watching the videos of the two javelin greats motivated me to give my best performance. It also helped boost my confidence ahead of the competition.”
Her latest achievement comes just a month after another impressive performance, when she clinched the silver medal in the javelin throw at the 37th North Zone Junior Athletics Championships with a throw of 38.37 metres.
Grandfather former national-level kabaddi player
Japjeet comes from a family with a strong sporting background. Her grandfather, Gurpal Singh, is a retired principal and a former national-level kabaddi player. A graduate of Sports College, Jalandhar, in 1966, he has remained closely associated with sports throughout his life.
She is currently training under Satnam Singh, a fitness coach at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala, who is helping her improve her strength and refine her throwing technique.
Her father, Bikramjit Singh, is also a javelin throw coach with the sports department. He describes Japjeet as a confident athlete who is eager to learn and improve.
“I take her to the ground in Jalandhar twice a week and make her practice with me. She keeps asking me about techniques. She has great arm strength,” he said, expressing pride in his daughter’s progress.
Junior Athletics Championships: Inspired by Neeraj Chopra, Punjab’s Japjeet Kaur strikes gold with personal best
