Boria Majumdar
2,700 days. Yes, for 2,700 days Neeraj Chopra had not finished outside of the podium. It finally ended in Tokyo. It had to end. He is human and sport is real, not reel. He had to fail for that’s what sport teaches you. And this failure is a public one. Unlike us, when we fail, we fail in private. For Neeraj it is a public failure and you know what, he is entitled to fail. It is okay to not be okay. Okay not to win. Okay to not make the podium.
Neeraj is India’s greatest-ever athlete. And even the greatest will have a bad day or a bad season. That’s the life lesson from sport. They will fail in public and the pain will be felt by millions. But the truth also is that sport will always give you a second chance. The comeback has already started for Neeraj. He will now go back to the drawing board, sit with his coaches, plan the way back and then take stage again in 2026. And the truth is it will be a new Neeraj. One who knows how to lose and how to fail. The burden of expectations will no longer hold him down and it will be good for him.
Sport is the only thing that allows you to fail in public and then come back and win in public. Neeraj will be no different and every Indian will be waiting for that day.
We at RevSportz have enjoyed every bit of this incredible journey. It was superb as long as it lasted. But now it is our job to be with him during his comeback journey. Stay with him when he needs the support. That’s what bonding is all about. More in bad than good. We will back our athlete and stay the course. And yes, celebrate the comeback.
For Neeraj, it will be new. But then, he will know that the shackles have been broken and he is yet again starting from scratch. Give Jan Zelezny a bit more time and let’s not be impatient like we always are. Changes in technique take time to get perfected and Neeraj is no different.
It is back to the mundane. Away from the public glare and the flashbulbs, away from the media, Neeraj will work to get perfect again. The quest is the same. To be perfect on an imperfect day and scale the peak again. The decisive one per cent that makes him who he is. And I am sure he will do it again.
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