The metamorphosis of India’s sporting triumph – Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj does his best to explain various points including our cliche questions. And the question of the pressure of being in a nation where we all stereotype that a billion Neeraj, the cricketers, follow someone who matters.

For Neeraj Chopra, the 2017 Federation Athletic Championships was as much about joy — as it was when it was a child. Before you start reacting – “what the heck” – let me explain. It was the last day of the championship in Patiala. A small crowd of about 500 had gathered in the evening to watch the events, and the spear was one of them. He had already started to attract fans, the 2016 U20 world champion had started to embrace his fate. The 86.48 meter throw in Bydgoszcz, Poland had shaken the athletics world. Also on the podium that day was a man named Andersen Peters, who finished third with a 79.65 (Grenada’s first medal in a throwing competition).

Patiala’s June afternoon temperature of 42 degrees plus had dropped to about 37, still uncomfortable for the athletics. The fans behind the throwing area were barely ten meters away, all seated on top of a 3-tiered gallery; others were crowded on the lawn surrounding the throwing area. Davinder Singh Kang was also in contention, someone who would advance to the final of the 2017 World Championships in London; Chopra, who has a problem, would miss qualifying.

Chopra opened with 85.63m and that set the tone; his second highest throw of the six allowed would be 83.91 m.

Kang had his motley crew of supporters cheering him on. After starting at 77.13m, Kang threw 83.82m on the 4th attempt to loud cheers. But on his final two throws, Kang failed to uncork a huge throw to beat Chopra’s opening 85 plus. Fans and competitors surrounded Chopra, hugging him, patting him on the back, shaking his hand; The bunch there knew he was a king. Chopra soaked it all up. He got used to attention. Five-minute interviews could stretch to 20, with an extra two minutes thrown in with silly babble. Every now and then a trainer would come by to shake his hand. And he would agree. He had a habit of pointing out the technicalities of javelin throwing and that the competition is tougher than we all think.

Five years later, Neeraj Chopra is the superstar of the athletics world. There are more interview requests for him. He has little time. Press conferences, once open to the media, begin with questions for him; Looking at India’s history in world athletics, it is understandable that there is now someone who is not a flash in the pan but has been in the works since that afternoon in 2016 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Even world athletics understands that. Trying to organize the journalists for his interviews from radio stations in Doha to Al Jazeera and a multitude of local writers is a task until Chopra himself steps in, agreeing to some common and some individual. He is patient, slightly stern without hurting anyone. Around him there is an atmosphere of hasty intensity; like the time you pack before a long vacation and long after you’re packed and awaiting drop-off at the airport, your mind is in overdrive when you’ve forgotten something. If you look at Chopra now, you get the same feeling.

It’s his season opener. Of course he would be in a hurry. He is the reigning Olympic champion, the Diamond League champion, the silver medalist at the World Championships. He’s still holding himself out there in a sea of ​​some great pitchers.

The 90m barrier, let’s not go there, a lot was made of it. “It comes when it has to come,” is his standard answer. But he’s looking forward to tonight (5 May) at Qatar Sports Club. “90-meter throws are seen in Doha. It might happen today.”

Still hanging on, one more question: “Does this all seem like a dream?”

Chopra smiles, “Fought for all of this. A lot of hard work has been done to achieve this. If it had come without the hard work, it would have seemed like a dream.”

At the press conference, Qatar’s world and Olympic gold medalist in high jump Mutaz Essa Barshim is asked about his impression of Indian athletics before Neeraj came on stage and what was his thinking about India at the time and did Neeraj’s arrival change thinking?

“Well, you know, India is a great nation. So there is no doubt that there is so much talent out there. And like Neeraj said, you want that first spark, someone to show you it’s possible. And I feel like if you compare the size between India and Qatar it’s like maybe I don’t know more than 50 times more. So, Neeraj definitely, when he came out there, as an Olympic champion, he created that spark for the whole younger generation for the kids to follow him and start making them believe. And I say there’s so much talent, that’s for sure.”

Neeraj does his best to explain various points including our cliche questions. And the question of the pressure of being in a nation where we all stereotype that a billion Neeraj, the cricketers, follow someone who matters. Without really understanding him, one tends to believe his instincts and feel that he is lonely, obsessed, in a hurry to get those formalities done and start with the little things that need ironing before he arrives on the 5th. May starts. Some even tell him wind speeds. He nods and seems grateful for the information.

Luckily he doesn’t seem narcissistic and revels in his own greatness, besides that I think he wishes all those “must do” press meetings end sooner.

Then we come back to pressure and what it all means. The pandemic is in the past. There is no such thing as a lonely life, cooped up in a room dreaming of medals over time.

But since that afternoon in Patiala, the pressure has changed. Fewer cameras, expectations, also of yourself, has that changed now?

“There’s pressure when you don’t prepare and the country expects a lot,” Chopra explains. “But if you prepare well, there’s faith, trust, then there’s no pressure. Or like at the World Cup, I was injured and couldn’t exercise it, that’s pressure when you want it but can’t. And if you’re looking for that energy, and now after so much competition, I get one thing, with all the big names here – whose day is out of my hands. It feels good to compete. Now that I’ve been here since 2017, I feel lucky.”

I forgot to ask him if he’ll ever tattoo his arms with his medals; he will mutilate his pure fair skin. He had turned to someone else now. More questions of the same kind and pressure to answer differently. Then I remembered he said exercise is healing maybe he would do that after all this mess is over, after our cliche questions, an extra photo op, then exercise, heal, get that belief, get trust back, before he hops in a car and heads over to the Qatar Sports Club. 90m? Just let him throw. The rest takes care of itself.