S Kannan in Hangzhou
Indian sports is blessed it has so many different champions. Each generation has produced a superstar, and fans could relate to them. If Milkha Singh was the legendary runner with non-stop energy, then Sunny Gavaskar was the India Test opener whose bat was full of runs and tons. Many champions after that have gelled with the masses, though Sachin Tendulkar’s connect with one and all remains unparalleled.
On the eve of the ICC World Cup, Tendulkar is its brand ambassador. People still relate to him simply because of what he did for the sport. Maybe, Kapil Dev has that same respect and is called Paaji by many, yet the 1983 World Cup-winning captain knows that Brand Sachin is bigger today.
This is the time when the Asian Games are peaking. India are now a force to be reckoned with in Asia, and winning medals in a multitude of events has captivated the nation. People are celebrating the medals, gold or bronze. That is most important.
On Wednesday, the first gold medal for India in archery came through the mixed event which saw Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha pair up. Jyothi and Ojas are as different as cheese and chalk in nature, yet they produced a gold medal. For a sport like archery, such results are important. The belief is that more will now take to the sport.
If you rewind to the days when India was searching for Olympic champions in individual sports, it seemed a struggle. Leander Paes came along to win a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. If that medal was supposed to spur growth in Indian tennis, it did not happen. India produced a champion in Sania Mirza, and doubles specialists in Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna. Yet, Leander could not inspire tennis to come up with more champions from India.
Four years later, when Karnam Malleswari won a bronze medal in weightlifting at the Sydney Olympics (2000), she broke a big barrier. Malleswari came from a lower middle-class rural background and became a role model. It was her pioneering effort which saw Mirabai Chanu take to lifting and showcase her skills to win a big medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
Two champions came after Malleswari, Col RVS Rathore in 2004 in Athens (silver) and the master of shooting, Abhinav Bindra, in Beijing in 2008. Bindra’s air rifle gold medal, the first for India in an individual sport, will always remain special. Today, as one who is involved in spreading the Olympic Movement and being a mentor, Bindra is a giant. He commands massive respect and shooters see him as a role model.
All this is fine, but what about Neeraj Chopra, the man who won hearts again in Hangzhou on Wednesday night? There were heart-stopping moments in the arena because of some technical glitch. A stoppage of nearly 20 minutes was ridiculous after Neeraj’s first throw. Eventually, he had to do it again, with the adjudicators unable to give a distance for what had been a massive throw.
It was nerve-wracking for Neeraj but he came out firing with an 88.88m effort, his season’s best, on the fourth attempt. It was tremendous from Neeraj, under pressure, after Kishore Kumar Jena had threatened his supremacy.
Neeraj has been around for so long that we may not have felt it. Many of us think his golden rise was from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, which spurred a massive change. He is the catalyst which Indian sports needed. Neeraj is the champion India needs. Yet, where Neeraj has made a mark is in creating that heroic image. How did that happen? Javelin is a simple sport, really, when you see it. It weighs around 800g and has to be flung. It soars through the air and then lands with a thud. There are many secrets to it, which Neeraj has mastered.
Back again to Neeraj and making his presence felt, which began in 2018. He had started creating ripples when he won gold in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast that year. Then came the Asian Games gold in Jakarta. Predictions were made that he would peak in Tokyo. That it would be a gold medal was least expected. Today, Neeraj has changed the very impression of an Indian athlete. Back to an Asiad gold amidst crazy conditions.
Without doubt, Neeraj is that big star who motivates many more. Attracts attention, arouses interest and instils desire. Neeraj is that magic man, who is the face of Indian Olympic sport. Agreed, in the next six or seven weeks, cricket will dominate the news thanks to the World Cup.
Yet, Neeraj remains a hero who is loved and seen as one of our own. There is a bit of Neeraj in all of us, for, athletics is a mass sport. Be it track, or field, taking to these events is not hard at all. From a casual runner to someone becoming a marathon expert or half-marathon addict, Neeraj has ensured that people feel a connect.
His simplicity can be understood only by watching him compete and speak, and seeing how he interacts with the media and the masses. There are no airs, there is no pretending. He is a natural person who will pose for photos and speak what’s in his heart. When he says he is injured, he is speaking the truth, and not trying to pull a fast one.
So, where does Neeraj get all that strength and energy from to keep himself so well-preserved? For an athlete to keep going for five years at this intensity is no joke. He has won in almost every competition, with the medals in the World Championship and Diamond League a sign of his masterful presence as a javelin artist.
Yet, the big goal which Neeraj has set is not only for himself but the nation. Jena is proof of it. He has inspired all of us, you and me included. We may not be athletes like the Chinese in the Asian Games, but Neeraj is an icon for school kids and commoners in India. He connects with the middle class and the elite.
As one who serves the Indian Army proudly as well, Neeraj is a rare hero. After all, unlike Europe, where Army service is compulsory, in India, joining the Armed Forces is not mandatory. We have mavericks like MS Dhoni serving the Territorial Army, and Sachin as a commissioned officer in the Indian Air Force. Yet, if one wants to become a top athlete and also serve the nation, Neeraj is the role model. Without doubt, his deeds are soul-stirring. From a country with a population over one billion, the message for him is simple: Fauji bhai ko salaam!