He has won the Olympic gold medal for India. He has also stood atop the podium at the World Championship. Clearly, he is one who has handled and knows how to deal with extreme pressure. In this exclusive conversation with Boria Majumdar, Neeraj Chopra, Olympic champion in Tokyo (2021) speaks on how athletes handle such pressure, Virat Kohli and the fitness cult, the difference between the qualification stage and a big final, while confirming that he will be in Ahmedabad to cheer for the men in blue. Excerpts from the conversation:
Boria: You have won the Olympic gold and the world championship gold. Clearly, you have handled extreme pressure. How do athletes deal with extreme pressure ahead of a World Cup final. India’s cricketers will be facing intense pressure in front of 130,000 people in the stadium, and over a billion plus watching.
Chopra: There is one difference in that I play an individual sport, and here it is a team sport. In a team situation, players can feed off one another. But there are many similarities as well. First and foremost, you will enjoy the pressure if you have prepared well. If you are ready for battle, there is nothing that can push you back. Pressure then starts to work for you. You start to feed off the crowd support. Also, when you go into the ground, nothing really matters. You know why you are there. You are there to win. And that’s when you get into the zone. Aap isi din ke liye taiyari ki hai. Aap yahi chahte ho. Aaj aap yeh kar sakte ho [You have prepared for this day. This is what you want. You can do this today]. Pressure will be there. But you need to embrace that pressure and enjoy being in the moment.
Boria: In your case also, there is a qualification round and then there is the final. Here also, it is the same. Can you tell me how the mindset changes between the qualification stage and the final?
Neeraj: There is a sea change. In fact, there is no comparison. While I am not trying to say that the qualification stage isn’t important – of course it is – and you need to do well in qualification to make it to the final, there is no comparison between the two stages. In qualification, it is just about trying to make the final. Even if there is a slip up, that’s okay. There is scope for experimentation. But in the final, you know there is no other way. You are there to win. There can’t be a slip up. It is now or never. That’s why it is the final, and that’s what you need to enjoy and accept it.
Boria: Fitness. That’s the one thing that perhaps brings a Neeraj Chopra and a Virat Kohli together. The focus on extreme fitness. When I see your videos, for example, and when you perform or when Virat bats through an innings, it is incredible to see. Thoughts?
Neeraj: Sport is all about fitness. If you want to be the best in your sport, you have to be obsessed with fitness. Virat bhai is clearly the best because he is so fit. It allows you to play sport at a higher level, do things that you can’t do if you are not 100 percent fit. Frankly no one can be the best if he isn’t at the peak of his fitness. And this is in any high-performance sport. Unless you are in peak fitness, you can’t compete at the global level and achieve success.
Boria: Again, an Olympics come every four years. A cricket World Cup too comes every four years. When all this preparation and hard work comes to fruition and you win, can you describe that feeling to me?
Neeraj: You just feel the lightest. It is as if all things have come together and it is a kind of elation difficult to describe in words. It is satisfaction, joy, delight and relief all rolled in one. But such moments are very short-lived for us athletes. Because inevitably, you tend to think of the next event or the next competition and start to prepare for that. You don’t actually enjoy the moment for too long. In my case, I had to play the Diamond League within days of winning the world championship, so you don’t get much time to enjoy.
Boria: Yes, but you have worked for four years for something. For a period, you need to enjoy!
Neeraj: Haan ji, absolutely. You must. It is not fair if you don’t. And it is not that you enjoy alone. It is you, your team, your country, your people and anyone who has been a part of the process who deserves to enjoy the moment. Unless you do so, it is not fair on yourself. I am just saying that such periods aren’t too long for us in sport. You know the next competition is never too far away!
Boria: You were there in South Africa to cheer our U-19 women. Are you going to be there at the Narendra Modi Stadium, cheering for Rohit, Virat and the boys?
Neeraj: Yes, I will be. I am going to Ahmedabad and will be in the stadium. Apne desh me World Cup final dekhne ka mauka bar bar nahi milta aur jab apne team khel raha hai, yeh ek alag hi cheez hai. Main jaunga match dekhne and will support the men in blue [Watching a World Cup final in your country doesn’t happen often, and when your team is playing, that’s a different feeling. I’ll go watch the match and support the men in blue]. Pray they win, and make the entire country happy and proud.