Deccan Chronicle

Neeraj Chopra’s hard-earned gold belongs to him alone!

While the country takes pride in his feat, Tina Ambani’s post crediting Kokilaben hospital that treated him once for an injury, is needless

- DC CORRESPOND­ENT:

Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a gold medal in track and field events and the youngest to win individual Olympic gold, besides Abhinav Bindra who’d won gold for shooting in the men’s 10 m air rifle category in 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Various entities, including the Haryana Government and several Indian brands, came up with rewards to congratula­te and celebrate the young man’s victory. The Haryana Government rewarded him

`6 Cr, the Punjab Government gave him `2 Cr, BCCI and the Manipur cabinet conferred the youngster with `1 cr, each. Anand Mahindra gifted Neeraj his company’s upcoming SUV,

XUV700 and Byju’s, an EdTech brand, offered him `2 Cr, too. Amidst all this rewarding and congratula­ting, was a post on instagram by Tina Ambani, former actress and wife of Reliance Communicat­ions Chairman Anil

Ambani, which stood out like a thorn. In her double-slide post, she first had the now famous video clip of the 23 year-old throwing his gold-winning javelin. In the second slide was the picture of the gold medallist in a hospital bed with his right arm in plaster. In the caption, Tina wrote, “Thrilled to see @neeraj____chopra win India’s first gold in Tokyo! Indeed, an honour for Team @kokilabenh­ospital, under the expert guidance of Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, to have treated him... You can’t keep a true champion down!!!” Perhaps Tina would like us to believe that the laurels for Neeraj’s gold, to some extent, rests with Kokilaben Hospital!

Neeraj Chopra’s hard-earned gold belongs to him alone!

 ??  ?? A month before Tokyo 2020, Uwe Hohn, the German coach for India’s javelin team (and the only athlete in Olympics who’s thrown javelin over 100 m), had accused the Sports Authority of India and Athletics Federation of India of not doing enough to prepare the athletes for the games. Apparently, the coach even pointed out that if not for JSW Sports, the youngster couldn’t have travelled to Europe for his training
A month before Tokyo 2020, Uwe Hohn, the German coach for India’s javelin team (and the only athlete in Olympics who’s thrown javelin over 100 m), had accused the Sports Authority of India and Athletics Federation of India of not doing enough to prepare the athletes for the games. Apparently, the coach even pointed out that if not for JSW Sports, the youngster couldn’t have travelled to Europe for his training
 ??  ?? Tina Ambani
Tina Ambani
 ??  ?? File Photo: Tina Ambani posted this picture of Neeraj Chopra being treated at the Kokilaben hospital
File Photo: Tina Ambani posted this picture of Neeraj Chopra being treated at the Kokilaben hospital

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