Peters sees the innovative ‘Neeraj Chopra Classic’ competition in India playing a diplomatic role reminiscent of the “Ping Pong Diplomacy” of the 1970s that saw the US table tennis team visit China at a time there was political tension between USA and China
His technique and speed up the javelin runway have a striking semblance of a fast bowler in full flight…
It’s little wonder that Grenada’s two-time world javelin champion Anderson Peters actually started off as an all-round cricketer with a lightning bowling pace and a big hitter with the bat, before trading bat and ball for the spear.
Naturally, it’s the dream of any youngster growing up in the Caribbean to play for the West Indies cricket team – a collection of stars from the islands featuring in the Test game alongside fellow giants India, Pakistan, Australia, England, et al.
It was always a joy watching Brian Lara at the crease, the Trinidadian holding the world record of biggest Test innings at an astonishing 400 runs (against England in 2004 in St John’s, Antigua), and Jamaica’s “The Universe Boss” Chris Gayle, also a legend of the abridged T20 version of the game, after him.
Peters’ Grenada has also made a solid contribution to the Windies selection with legends such as talented all-rounder Darren Sammy, who captained the maroons, fast-bowling all-rounder Nixon McLean and Andre Fletcher, a hard-hitting opening batsman.
But 27-year-old Peter has no regret for leaving the crease for the javelin runway that has since rewarded him with two world titles – in 2019 (Doha) and 2022 (Eugene), alongside a bronze at last year’s Paris Olympics.
Started as a Fast Bowler
“I started my career as a cricketer, an all-rounder, fast bowler and big hitter,” Peters confirmed his love for cricket at the Absa Kip Keino Classic’s pre-event Press Conference on Friday at Nairobi’s Tamarind Tree Hotel associated with Martin Dunford whose sons Jason and David are Kenyan Olympic swimmers.
“My dream as a cricketer was to go on and play for the West Indies team, but, unfortunately, track and field grabbed a hold on me even before I could do that, so I had to make the switch from cricket to track and field.”
All wasn’t lost, though, because cricket set him up for the javelin.
“Because I was a fast bowler, it was easy to transition into javelin,” he explains.
Peters competes at the Absa Kip Keino Classic at Nairobi’s Ulinzi Sports Complex at a time simmering political tensions between India and Pakistan have prompted India’s superstar Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra to postpone his intended “Neeraj Chopra Classic”, an innovative javelin competition featuring the world’s top throwers, and potentially including his Pakistani rival, Nadeem Arshad who also bagged gold at last year’s Paris Olympic Games with a second-round winning throw of an Olympic record 92.97 metres, beating Chopra (89.45) to silver with Peters’ fourth-round 88.54 earning him bronze.
The ”Neeraj Chopra Classic” – initially penciled for the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the southern Indian city of Bengalore on May 24 – was called off as the India-Pakistan tensions rose following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region on April 22 that killed 26 civilians, mainly Indian tourists.
The Resistance Front (TRF) initially claimed responsibility for the attack that immediately triggered a surge in diplomatic tensions between the two Asian giants.
Peters, alongside Kenya’s 2015 World Champion and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Julius Yego and Germany’s Thomas Rohler, Olympic champion in 2016, had already been signed up for the “Neeraj Chopra Classic.”
Motivational Factor to end Indo-Pakistani tensions
Peters believes this innovative competition would play a diplomatic role reminiscent of the “Ping Pong Diplomacy” of the 1970s that saw the US table tennis team visit China at a time there was political tension between USA and China.
The 1971 visit led to series of table tennis matches played between China and USA, paving the way for US President Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, a gesture that helped ease the tensions.
“The Classic that Chopra is going to have will be a good thing for India and Pakistan,” Peters weighed in on the Indo-Pakistani tensions.
“If Nadeem from Pakistan is able to compete, it will be a good union and a sign of peace. It would be like a motivational factor to the people if they allow these two to come together, compete together. It would be a big motivation for the people to come together and live in unity and peace.”
It has been a long journey travelled by Peters who doesn’t regret his transition to the javelin, inspired by the likes of Yego and Trinidadian Keshorn Walcott, the first black man in history to win and Olympic javelin title which he accomplished at the 2012 Olympics in London.
“When I got into track and field, I was doing almost all events because I was good in all events. At one point I thought I’d be a decathlon athlete, but that turned out not to be my calling so I stuck to javelin and saw tremendous improvements over the years… there were some years where I was improving by 10 metres a year, and so I stuck with it and here I am as a double world champion,” he walked down memory lane.
World record 98.48m ‘gettable’
The current javelin world record stands at 98.48 metres by Czech Republic’s Jan Zelezny from a meeting at the Ernst-Abbe-Sportfield in Jena, Germany, on May 25, 1996.
Peters believes the 98-metre mark is gettable: “He (Zelezny) is currently coach of Neeraj Chopra…. the question is if (throwing) 98 is possible. I think its possible .
“Just a few years ago, (Germany’s) Johannes Vetter got to 97 metres, a few centimetres shy of the world record… 97 metres is very close to 98 so that gives a lot of reassurance to javelin throwers that 98 metres is certainly possible.”
The Grenadian feels there are more big throws still left in him as he tackles a season that has already seen Chopra and Germany’s Julian Weber join the “exclusive 90-metre club” at the recent Doha Diamond League meeting, Weber winning the meet with a world lead hurl of 90.06m and Chopra finishing second in 90.23m.
Peters was third in Doha with 85.64m in a meet where Yego opened his season with a ninth-place 78.52.
“I’m still young… I’m only 27 years old and so I still have a lot of time in the event and I have to mature and learn even more,” reflects Peters who drew inspiration from fellow Caribbean Walcott’s London Olympics triumph and Yego’s World Championship gold in 2015.
“I started to train for Javelin in 2011 and in 2012 I saw Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago win the first (javelin) Olympic gold medal as a non-European athlete and that was the first motivational factor for me.
“And fast-forward to 2015 to see Yegon win the World Championship and winning a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics – he deserved a gold but he succumbed to injury. Seeing him win the World Championship in 2015 motivated me and I had a stronger desire to try and qualify for the Olympics in 2016 – I didn’t qualify but I qualified for the World Championship in 2017.”
Smitten by Fine Kenyan Cuisine, loves cars
At Friday’s Press Conference, Peters sat alongside Yego, describing the Kenya “YouTube Man” as “a very good friend.”
“He is a very good friend to me and we always talk about the event and he assists me when he can assist and I assist him when I can assist. Competing here (at Absa Kip Keino Classic) with him is a big deal to me and it’s a great show of African talent.”
As he chills at the athletes’ hotel in between competition, Peters is smitten by the fine taste of Kenyan cuisine, especially the fruits.
“The fruits here are very, very sweet. They are sweeter than in the Caribbean and I don’t know what’s the reason for it. Especially the pineapple! The pineapple, man, is sweet and I love it!”
And he’s enjoying the warmth of the Kenyan hospitality: “Something that really stuck with me is the energy from the people… we as Africans have this vibe towards each other… brotherly love and sisterly love… everywhere you find African people you find that type of vibe.”
Peters doesn’t hide his passion for fast cars and SUVs, his collection including BMW, Audi, Nissan Fronterra and Mazda CX5 alongside a 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution drag racing car.
The javelin competition at the Sixth Absa Kip Keino Classic is an 11-man contest that throws off at 11.50am and also features 2016 Germany’s Olympic champion Thomas Rohler, Belgium’s multiple national champion and Olympian Timothy Herman, India’s Asian Games silver medalist Kishore Jena and USA’s Pan American Game champion Curtis Thompson.
Kenya’s former Africa Junior Championships gold medalist Alex Kiprotich will keep Yego in company with Portugal’s national record holder (84.78) Leandro Ramos, Spain’s two-time national champion Manu Quijera, South American Championships bronze medalist Luiz Mauricio Da Silva and reigning Greek national champion Ioannis Kyriazis complete the line-up
- elias.makori@ymail.com
Elias Makori, the founder and Managing Editor of Pura Vida Sports Africa, is a veteran sports journalist with over 30 years’ experience. Makori is a holder of a Masters in Sports Management degree from Barcelona’s Cruyff Institute and is also the 2012 World Athletics Journalist of the Year, three-time Kenya Sports Journalist of the Year and twice Africa Sports Media Personality of the Year.
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