It is not easy being Neeraj Chopra. To do the things he does. Win consecutive medals on the world stage, and yet feel the same hunger when he gets ready for the next competition. In cricket, India has Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. In badminton, a PV Sindhu has support from the men’s team, who are also high-achievers. But in athletics, it is just Chopra at the top. To be the pole star can’t be easy, and yet he has conducted himself with utmost maturity, and presided over a revolution of sorts – winning medals at every event he has participated in.
And now, he is No.1 in the world athletics men’s javelin rankings. A first for him and, needless to say, a first for India. What works for Chopra, or has worked so far? How does he keep himself rooted despite all the adulation around him? How is he dealing with the mantle of India’s new sporting superstar? How important was it for him to prove that Tokyo wasn’t an aberration, and that he belongs at this level of elite competition?
“Main koi bhi competition mein Olympic Champion ban ke nahi khelta hoon [I don’t take part in any competition as Olympic champion],” said Chopra, when asked about his mental prepration for the big events. “I always play as Neeraj, just another athlete. Never do I approach a competition thinking I am Neeraj, Olympic gold medallist. All I do is give my 100 percent and prepare the best I can.
“Pressure to hai. Rahega bhi [The pressure is there, and will be]. But what is important is the sport is now attracting attention in India. People are following every single competition. They are getting to know more about Javelin and, as a result, more and more people will now play the sport.”
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It can be argued that 2022 and, now, 2023 are considerably more difficult for him in comparison to 2021. In Tokyo, he was a contender. More for a medal than the gold. India would have been happy if he made the podium. Few dared to dream of gold. Post-Tokyo, things were dramatically different. On the one hand, people couldn’t get enough of him. On the other, they wanted him to win every event he participated in. He was the boy next door and the elite athlete all moulded into one.
He had to inaugurate every conclave and every gala, and yet couldn’t miss training, for then there could be criticism that success had gone to his head. He had it all, and yet was being challenged every single day for more. India couldn’t get enough of Chopra, and did not know how to let him be and train in peace. For a 24 year old, it couldn’t have been easy.
Abhinav Bindra has often spoken about how difficult it was to deal with the post-Beijing (2008) euphoria. He had it all at 26, and there was nothing left for him to strive for, he argued. For Chopra, however, becoming jaded was never an option. “If you see Usain Bolt or Carl Lewis or athletes in their league, you will see it is all about repeat success,” he told me during one of our many interactions. “You can’t be satisfied with one Olympic gold medal. If you can win in Paris and then may be in Los Angeles, then you can call yourself a great and that’s what drives me. I want to do more for my country and will not rest easy.”
And while saying so, he has stayed humble. Just like he was on Monday night when I congratulated him. He is in Turkey, training and getting ready for the next competition. He has always taken the right calls. Missing the Commonwealth Games in 2022 wasn’t easy. Yet, he decided to do so keeping the bigger picture in mind. A CWG medal would have fetched him a few more crores, but money wasn’t an issue for him anymore.
Yes, he hasn’t thrown 90 metres yet. That has become an obsession of sorts with him, by his own admission. But that’s not bad going into 2023. He knows he isn’t there yet, despite winning all that there is to win. He stills wants a World Championship gold, and maybe another at the Olympics in Paris in 2024. And with Chopra, one thing is certain. There will never be any dearth of effort. Success hasn’t changed him, and that is perhaps the most important reason why he has scaled that No.1 peak.