Olympics in his sights
BORN in Khandra in Panipat, Haryana, to a farmer’s family, Asian javelin throw champion and the new poster boy of Indian athletics, Neeraj Chopra, says his struggle to give the best to his family as a young boy and to achieve his goals motivated him to reach the heights he had.
Chopra, not only won gold in the javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games, but also at the Asiad 2018 – where he threw 88.06m in the men’s event and set a new Indian national record, bettering his previous record.
His introduction to the game came at the age of 11 when, weighing 80kg, he visited the Panipat Stadium in a bid to lose weight. He quickly took a liking to the sport, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Talking about his past, Chopra said: “If I were going thorough the same struggle today, I would have quit. I might have opted for other fields. That was the time when I was going through strenuous training practices and was focusing a lot to maintain myself as a sportsperson. I had to keep my family happy and live up to their expectations, so all these factors motivated me, and still motivate me. I think my struggling time has become my motivation now.”
Before bagging golds at these two events, Chopra was the 2016 IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World U20 Champion and set the world junior record of 86.48m. He was also selected as the flag-bearer at the opening ceremony for India at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, which marked his first Asian Games appearance.
He said: “When we start from a small place, there are times when you feel like giving up as we lose strength to fight. However, that is time when your true patience is tested, so make sure you keep faith in yourself intact. You have to keep
pushing yourself. You should never quit.”
So what are his next goals?
“Post my win at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, I would like to give the same performance in the Olympics (2020) and World Championship in 2019, and get gold for India again,” he said.
“Now that people have started acknowledging athletes I feel that more such performances will increase their importance. The Asian Games gave new hope to the athletes, and I wish this to continue.” – IANS