Not surprised by gold, says first coach
NEW DELHI: From an overweight 13 year-old in 2011 to an Asian Games champion in 2018, the journey of Neeraj Chopra is quite intriguing. Seven years ago, Surinder Chopra observed that his nephew Neeraj was developing a bulge around his waist.
Lack of outdoor activity options in Khandra — a nondescript village around 30 minutes from Panipat (Haryana) — meant Surinder had no option but to push the teenager into some kind of fitness regimen. So whenever he went to Panipat for some work, Surinder used to take Neeraj along and drop him at Panipat’s Shivaji Stadium where a family friend oversaw his pursuit of fitness.
It was sheer coincidence he met former national level javelin thrower Jai Choudhary at the stadium. One day Choudhary asked Neeraj to try javelin. “Neeraj’s approach was like a seasoned thrower. Despite being a novice, he had good technique. I told him to continue training and he agreed,” said Choudhary from Panipat.
“He was very dedicated and ready to work hard. That made him extra-ordinary. Since he was a regular at the stadium he started slimming down as well.”
Since there were no frequent means of public transport from Neeraj’s village to Panipat, the athlete and coach shifted to Panchkula near Chandigarh where facilities were far better. During training, according to Choudhary, the focus was on technique. “Since he had good strength we never did any gym workout but fundamental strength drills to improve throwing skills,” said the coach. “Since he was very hard working, he improved rapidly.”
In 2013 he participated in the World Youth Championships held in Ukraine but didn’t finish at the podium. Two years later, when Neeraj represented Haryana at the National Games in Kerala, he caught the eyes of Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and was inducted in the junior coaching programme.
After winning gold at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati with a national record of 82.23m, Neeraj missed the cut for Rio Olympics. AFI’S decision to appoint Australian javelin throw expert Garry Calvert — who died earlier this year — helped Neeraj polish his technique. The Australian guided Neeraj to a sensational javelin gold at the U-20 World Athletics Championships in Poland with a record throw of 86.48m. And so it wasn’t a surprise for Choudhary when Neeraj became Asian Games champion on Monday. “It was on the cards.” JAKARTA: Sudha Singh has long been called the pioneer of 3000m steeplechase in the country. So overriding has been her presence in one of the most gruelling events in athletics that she continues to rule even at 32.
Winner of the 2010 Asian Games gold at Guangzhou, and coming close to clinching bronze at the 2014 Games at Incheon, Sudha was told by pundits that her time was up. However, she believed in her abilities even when many top coaches shut the door on her following two disappointing years when her performance plummeted.
On Monday, she was back celebrating silver at the Asian Games with a time of 9:40.03, after being denied gold by Bahrain’s Yavi Winfred, who clocked 9:36.42.
“Everybody gave up on me. They asked me to quit before I lost goodwill. With a string of dismal performances and age catching up, there were not many people willing to train me”.
However, the turnaround happened in February, when competing in the Mumbai Marathon, she overcame cramps to emerge the best Indian in the event. Thereafter, her journey for a second Asian Games medal started. “I felt I still had it in me to win another Asian Games medal. Today, I was running to win a medal, whatever colour, I wasn’t bothered,” said Sudha soon after winning the medal, which she said is at par with the 2010 Guangzhou gold for the resilience and the “way I fought”.
“The 2014 Games was a disappointment as I finished fourth (behind Lalita Babar) despite lopping off nearly 10 seconds from the 2010 Games timing. I thank the people who stood by me in my most testing times… coaches who kept the faith in me,” said Sudha, who hails from Uttar Pradesh.