Neeraj Chopra: The spear superman of Indian athletics

Neeraj Chopra could never have foreseen that his journey would transform him into one of Indias most revered sporting icons From a onceoverweight child to a shining star the captivating saga was made all the more extraordinary by the fact that this 25yearold has carved an unconventional path in India by mastering the art of spear hurlingChopra exhibited an early penchant for sports engaging in cricket kabaddi and volleyball Local javelin thrower Jaiveer Singh encouraged him to explore athletics Despite waning enthusiasm initially Chopra embraced the challenge and through dedicated practice Chopras unwavering efforts began to bear fruit evident in his impressive performances across numerous significant domestic tournamentsA star was born overnight in a nation that had for long yearned for ultimate success in the sportrsquos grandest stage when Chopra at 23 became Indias first Olympics track and field gold medalist He gave an exhibition of his immense talent by becoming only the second Indian to win an individual gold medal in the Olympics after legendary shooter Abhinav BindraWith his gold medal onSundayat the Budapest World Athletics Championships the legend of Chopra promises to grow even further He thus became the only second Indian after Bindra to hold the Olympics and World Championships title at the same time For the unversed Bindra won the World Championships title at 23 and clinched the top honours at the Olympics two years laterThe significance of consistency in ensuring longevity and Neeraj Chopra has embraced this principle wholeheartedly From the moment his javelin soared gracefully into the Tokyo sky he has exemplified an unwavering constancy Over the past two years he has maintained an impressive record consistently achieving throws surpassing 86 meters in every tournament he has participated inItrsquos intriguing to note that Choprarsquos form remains topnotch despite being out of competitive action for most of last year In fact 8669m would be the least distance he has cleared since Tokyo 2020 while winning the Kuortane Games title in Finland last year His personal best PB of 8994m however was not enough for him to overtake Anderson Peters of Grenada at the Stockholm Diamond League also in June last yearAlso Read World Athletics Championships 2023 Chopra the one to beatChopras first significant taste of triumph came at the National Junior Championships in 2012 where he won the U16 event with a national agegroup record of 6846m A year later a brilliant secondplace finish at the National Youth Championships earned him a berth for the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk Failing to battle with the advanced techniques used by his competitors in the event Chopra then 15 finished 19th in the qualifying roundBut every failure brings upon a chance to grow to learn and in the end to succeed And none knows it better than Chopra Exactly three years later a World Junior Championships win in 2016 heralded his rise on the world stage He caused a sensation with a throw of 8648m thereby scripting a new world junior record He also became the firstever Indian athlete to become the Junior World ChampionChopra did not look back ever since as he clinched two more gold medals at both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in 2018 Following a successful 2018 season his elbow injury kept him out of action for a considerable amount of time His troubles worsened as the injury soon aggravated and eventually required surgery As a consequence Chopra missed both the IAAF World Athletics Championships and the National Open Athletics Championships in 2019However in 2021 Chopra came back stronger than ever He threw above the 83m four times in the five events he participated in that year He bettered his personal best with a throw of 8807m in March at the Indian Grand Prix Carrying the same momentum into Tokyo 2020 a throw of 8665m in his first and only attempt ensured direct qualification into the finals Hours later he handed India its firstever Olympic track and field medal and the realisation of a longstanding dreamAthletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla recently remarked that Chopras Tokyo Olympics gold has made parents think that there is a career beyond cricket in India as reported by PTI He was certainly not off the mark asSundayrsquos final saw three Indians including Chopra finishing in the top eight with Kishore Jena 8477m and DP Manu 8414m placed fifth and sixth respectively Never before have three Indians finished in the top eight of an athletic event at the World ChampionshipsWith Chopra going from strength to strength another yellow metal in a throwing event could soon be on its way