Haryana’s tableau to showcase its golden boy, other champions
CHANDIGARH: Haryana will celebrate its champion athletes when its tableau rolls past Rajpath this Republic Day, and a life-size image of India’s only track & field gold medallist, Neeraj Chopra, will be showcased as one of the centrepieces of the state’s sporting revolution.
Chopra, the javelin thrower who won a historic gold at the Tokyo Olympics last year, is at the Chula Vista Training Center in San Diago, US for training. .
Officials aware of the details said Chopra’s life replica will be on the rear of the tableau, where he will be seen in a famous posture — hurling the javelin.
Ten eminent athletes — Olympic medal-winning wrestlers Bajrang Punia (bronze, 2020 Tokyo) and Yogeshwar Dutt (bronze, 2012 London); para athletes Sumit Antil (gold, 2020 Tokyo) and Yogesh Kathuniya (silver, 2020 Tokyo), para archer Harvinder (bronze, 2020 Tokyo), national women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal, former national women’s hockey captain Mamta Kharb, wrestler Deepak Punia (fourth, 2020 Tokyo), and para athletes Rampal and Ranjeet, who participated in 2020 Tokyo Games — will be on the tableau deck.
Two wrestlers, Ashu (bronze medallist at the 2020 Asian Championships in 67kg Greco Roman) and Anil (who won gold in the 96kg Greco Roman at the 2010 CWG in New Delhi), will demonstrate a live wrestling bout aboard the tableau as it goes past the stage. The tableau will also feature sporting disciplines in which athletes from Haryana are particularly proficient — boxing, weightlifting, shooting, hockey, among others.
Amit Agrawal, additional principal secretary to CM Manohar Lal Khattar, said since one distinct achievement of the state is highlighted on Republic Day, it was decided to highlight Haryana’s sporting glory on the back of India’s most successful Olympic Games. “The tableau has to feature something special and unique,” he said.