Neeraj Chopra
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Early life
Avijit Ghosh, April 23, 2018: The Times of India
Poking beehives, stealing mangoes and fighting with friends…that was boyhood in the hinterland for Neeraj Chopra, the athlete whose javelin struck gold at the just-concluded Commonwealth Games. As a child, his weakness was food. It came with too many calories, and too much love. Dollops of fresh cream and choorma, a fat-friendly mix of roti, ghee and sugar, fed by a doting grandmother meant Neeraj stepped into his teens chubby and flabby. The family elders had a simple solution: hit the gym.
The nearest one was a fitness centre in Panipat, about 15km from his village, Khandra, in east-central Haryana. Little did he know that the town, site of three medieval battles, would change his life — just as it had altered the course of history centuries ago.
Near the gym in Panipat stood Shiva-ji stadium, a popular magnet for dozens of ambitious athletes from neighbouring villages. Neeraj was jogging in the stadium in the winter of 2010 when he caught the eye of javelin thrower Jai Choudhary, aka Jaiveer.
Jai, a marginal farmer’s son from Binjhol village, recalls how it all began. “One evening at the stadium I just asked him to throw the javelin. It travelled about 35-40m which was pretty impressive for a first-timer. What I liked more was the way he threw it. Neeraj used to be overweight those days. But his body was pretty flexible,” says Jai. Neeraj acknowledges the role Jai played in his life: “I started throwing javelin after watching him. He is like my elder brother.”
As an event, javelin throw was part of the ancient Olympics. Said to evolve from the use of spear in hunting, the sport combines strength, speed and flexibility. A few exceptions aside, European athletes have lorded over the event. Before Neeraj’s gold at Gold Coast, India had never won a javelin medal at the Commonwealth Games, forget the Olympics.
Having spotted his potential, Jai was keen that Neeraj focus on the sport. The teenager’s family agreed but raising resources was a challenge. At Khandra, the family of four brothers, 16 members in all, owns a combined eight acres of farmland, two buffaloes and three cows. “Three of us are employed in modest private jobs. Neeraj’s involvement in sports meant juggling resources,” says uncle Surendra.
Practice javelins cost Rs 15,000-20,000 but a quality javelin used in international competitions can set you back by Rs 1 lakh or more, says Jai. Quality sneakers with spikes cost more than Rs 10,000. “We wanted to reconstruct our ancestral house. We put that plan on hold and focused on Neeraj,” says Surendra.
In 2011, a group of four athletes, including Neeraj and Jai, shifted to Panchkula Athletics Nursery for training. “Coach Naseem Ahmad supported us there,” Neeraj says. In the first next few years, he blossomed as a young athlete, making a clutch of podium finishes at home and abroad. It was a moment of serendipity for every Indian sports lover when he created a new record of 86.48m in the World U-20 Championships in Poland in 2016. At Gold Coast, the javelin landed one centimetre short, at 86.47m. IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) records show his was the second-best outdoor throw in men’s javelin this year.
Bigger goals — a medal at Tokyo 2020 —beckon under the tutelage of the legendary Uwe Hohn. But the 20-year-old is taking it one step at a time: the elite Diamond League in Europe first, followed by the Asian Games in Jakarta in August this year. “He’s a special talent. He can throw as far as 95m, ” says 27-year-old Jai whose own career, meanwhile, has been plagued by injuries. “I was out of action for years. Now I am back, training hard,” he says.
“I want him to be fit. It would be great if we both participate in a top competition,” says Neeraj, who is also a naib subedar with Rajputana Rifles.
Bolstered by earlier cash rewards, Neeraj’s family is now building a two-storeyed baithak with six rooms. The ancestral home, though, remains to be rebuilt. A quote hangs on the wall in the drawing room: “A single idea can light up your life.” Who knows that better than Neeraj Chopra?
Achievements
January 23, 2018: The Times of India
Won a gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championship while breaking the men’s javelin meet record with an effort of 85.23 meters. Won a javelin silver at the Asian Grand Prix in Jiaxing, China to qualify for the IAFF World Championships. He threw a distance of 83.32m. Won silver medals in the javelin events during the first two legs of the Asian Grand Prix in China’s Jinhua and Jiaxing with throws of 82.11m and 83.32m respectively.
His performance in Jiaxing sealed his passage to the IAFF World Championships (failed to qualify for the final). Finished with in the 10-man elite field with a best effort of 84.67m at the prestigious IAFF Athletics Diamond League in Paris.
YEAR-WISE STATISTICS
2018
Gold at Sotteville Athletics
July 19, 2018: The Times of India
India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra comfortably won the gold at the Sotteville Athletics meet in France, beating a competitive field which included 2012 London Olympics gold-medallist Keshorn Walcott.
Chopra’s throw of 85.17m put him way ahead of the field, including Moldova’s Andrian Mardare (81.48m) and Lithuania’s Edis Matusevicius (79.31m), who finished second and third respectively.
Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago came up with a throw of 78.26m, which was only enough for fifth place. The 20-year-old Indian from Panipat had first made headlines when he won the gold in the 2016 World Junior Championship with a record throw of 86.48m.
He also won the gold at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast earlier this year before breaking the national record with a 87.43m effort at the Doha Diamond League.
