For years on end, Indian athletes have come to the Olympic stadium early, and left within minutes after failing to make the final. Such has been the pattern, leaving behind questions of why a nation of over a billion can never win an athletics medal. Neeraj Chopra too came to the stadium early, and left before long on the day of his qualification. Only this time, he had a monstrous 86.54m throw to his name, topping the qualification charts. He was the first to make the final of the men’s Javelin. As Neeraj left the stadium, there was a swagger in his walk that no one could have missed. He was in Tokyo on business – that of winning an Olympic medal.
And on the day of the final, he looked totally composed. He was even wishing some of his competitors, and looked in the zone. Seeing him from up close was an experience. And the moment he completed the first throw, the build-up had begun – 87.03m, and India started to dream. Indian athletes had come close several times in Tokyo, so it wasn’t prudent to jump the gun. Especially with Johannes Vetter in the fray. The German had seven 90-metre-plus throws under his belt in 2021, and all India could do was pray.
At the end of the first set of throws from the 12 finalists, the scoreboard flashed IND at the top of the leaderboard. It was a first, and the nervous energy was palpable. Neeraj was out there competing, and millions of Indians were sharing his experience from the stands, and on their screens. That’s when it happened. The moment he threw the javelin a second time, we could see something extraordinary unfold.
It kept traveling, fast and destined, and for a nano-second, it seemed that he might have broken the Olympic record. When it landed just below the 90m mark, we were convinced he had bettered his own national record. He was close – 87.58m, the scoreboard told us. With the others in and around the 85-metre mark, we didn’t care much for the record. We were seeing a young Indian, coming from a very modest farming background in Haryana, address the sporting world, making a statement that India too could win an Olympic gold in athletics and redeem 100 years of pain.
As Vetter fell by the wayside, expectations began to mount. Was it going to happen again, 13 years after Abhinav Bindra had allowed us all to sing the national anthem early morning in India? The WhatsApp group we had set up for the India Today team was buzzing with messages every second. Colleagues wanted me to be live on air. I was having none of it. Frankly, I wasn’t willing to move an inch until Neeraj had completed his final throw. In my own make-believe world, I was passing on positive vibes to him.
Finally, when the competitor from the Czech Republic, who had briefly threatened with an 86m-plus throw, completed his sixth, it took a second for the reality to sink in. Neeraj still had a throw left, but there he was pumping his fists. He was still on top of the leaderboard, and now there was no one left who could displace him. He was now Neeraj Chopra, Olympic Champion.
When a Norwegian reporter asked him at the press conference organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) what made him take up the javelin, with very little tradition for it back in India, Neeraj looked at me to ask if he could answer in Hindi. I translated his query for the IOC venue manager, and was asked if I could act as the interpreter for global journalists who all wanted to know his story.
“Mein bahut mota tha ji, isi liye ekdin gaon mein khelne chala gaya aur wahan pe sab sport tha. Javelin bhi tha. Mujhe Javelin dekh ke achha laga aur maine utha liya. Main yeh nahi janta tha ki isi Javelin mujhe yahan tak le aayga [I was very fat, so one day I went to the village to play and there were all kinds of sports there Javelin too. I liked the look of the javelin and picked it up. I didn’t know then that this javelin would bring me this far].”
Yet again, a uniquely Indian story. Raw talent that we have in abundance in the country, taking to sport fairly early on in their lives. When I translated the answer for the global media, one could feel a growing sense of awe in the press conference room. “Uske baad, main compete karne laga aur dhire dhire jitna bhi shuru ho gaya [After that, I started to compete, and it began slowly].”
As Neeraj was narrating his tale, I couldn’t help but think back to how many more Neeraj Chopras there must be in India, who just fall by the wayside. Here, thanks to the Federation, the Sports Ministry of the Government of India and now JSW Sports, Neeraj was given a direction. It was the structure that was created around him that helped his transformation from a promising youngster to a champion.
“In 2018, I went to Germany to train with Uwe Hohn,” said Neeraj, a subject of much interest for the media, for all the controversy that Hohn had since generated. Neeraj, very humbly, settled the debate. “Unse mera technique match nahi kar raha tha. Sab thik nahi ho raha tha aur isiliye maine Klaus ko chuna. Wohi mere coach hain ab. Woh mere body ke mutabek mera training arrange karwate hain [My technique wasn’t matching with his. Things weren’t going well, which is why I chose Klaus (Bartonietz). He’s my coach now. He arranges my training according to my body],” said Neeraj. And that’s where, inadvertently perhaps, he made the most telling point. It is not always about the world’s best coach or the best-known coach. It is about a coach who understands the athlete the best, and applies scientific methods and techniques to the athlete’s training.
Just like you can’t make an athlete overdo preparation, you also need to ensure that the athlete peaks at the right time. That’s what Bartonietz was able to help Neeraj do. Understandably, Neeraj was desperate for some decent competition ahead of the Games, and despite Covid, his support team was able to send him to Sweden and make sure that he was in full bloom coming to the Olympics.
Neeraj was all about scientific training. Despite having suffered a serious injury two years earlier, he recovered in time because of a well-thought-out recovery route that was charted for him. He did not hesitate to change his coach when things weren’t going right, and much as Hohn criticised the Indian set-up, Neeraj was steadfast and focussed.
It was good to see Neeraj dedicate his medal to the late Milkha Singh and to the few other Indian athletes who had come close on the Olympic stage. Each one of them – Milkha, PT Usha, Gurbachan Singh Randhawa and Anju Bobby George – had done so without proper systems in place. They made it based on individual brilliance, and could well have made the podium had they been part of the current set-up.
That’s where Neeraj is a shining example. He is the perfect synergy between talent and scientific training, a well-honed mind that is now ready to soak in the pressure of the big events. Like Bindra, he has struck the holy grail and started a process. With a much more proactive ministry and IOA at the helm, chances are that Neeraj will soon be the first of many.
With some luck, India could easily have won 10-plus medals in Tokyo. A little more self-regulation and scientific training, and a few more golds could well be a reality in Paris. India hadn’t won anything in athletics in 100 years. Neeraj won gold. There’s no reason why, with all the money that is now there, infrastructure like the Inspire Institute in Vijayanagar, and private players like OGQ, JSW Sports, Go Sports Foundation all playing a part, India can’t be in the top 20 in the medals’ table in Paris.
India has started to dream. And Neeraj has shown that dreams do come true. As he was standing in front of us on the podium, no more than 15 feet away, we shouted to him, “Bharat mata ki”, and Neeraj joined in screaming out, “Jai”. The IOC personnel were amused by what happened, but the chant started to reverberate around the stadium. The chorus will only grow louder, and India hopes to hear it a few more times in Paris.