How more Indians are wanting to throw the javelin like pros

Olympic goldwinner Neeraj Chopra has not just made javelin throwing cool but also inspired many to follow in his footsteps There is a rise in demand for coaches and more participation in the sport which has been a part of the Olympics since 1908 for men and 1932 for women within the city and stateldquoWe started javelin throwing for children only three years agordquo attests Arthur Fernandes General Secretary MSDAA Mumbai Suburban District Athletic Association ldquoWersquove had it for years for teens but in the last few years we would get around 1213 entries in each category This year we received 38 entries for boys and 29 in girlsrdquoOm Chopra at University Sports Pavilion in Marine Lines PicAtul Kamble right Sanjay Ram U16 winner of Mumbai Surburban in a training session at Kurar Village Malad East The 15yearold studies in Class 10 at BMCrsquos MPS School Hindi medium school in Malad PicSatej ShindeThe gold winners at the recentlyconcluded MSDAA Meet and the Bombay City District Athletics Championships all idolise Chopra Prisha Nitin Wasnik U14 winner suburban hopes to make as big a mark as Chopra with the help of her coaches Harishankar Yadav and Swapnil Gujar Bombay City Girls U14 winner Nayomi Sirvala from Dadar was inspired after seeing a fellow athlete throw the spear when she was barely five years old but had to wait till she was 13 to train in the sport with Ravindra Kumar of Sprinters Sports ClubMahalakshmi resident and Bombay City boys U16 winner Aayan Zohar Furniturewalarsquos photographer mother Manmeet Bhatti noticed him throw the javelin exceptionally at an interschool event when he was still in Class V at Golden Spiral School in Parel Like Sirvala he was too young to start training for it he began being coached at Sprinters Sports Club last year Brothersister duo Om and Tiya ChopramdashOm is the Mumbai City boys U14 champ and Tiya topped Girls U16mdashstarted training only a couple of months ago ldquoI am so glad we managed to both win gold in the first district meet we participated inrdquo says Wadala resident Tiya ldquoI was doing track before and wanted to try a field event Seeing Neeraj throw 8994 m at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022 inspired us furtherrdquo Both siblings train under Dhanalakshmi Jamil Khan at the University Pavilion Marine Lines thrice a week She also teaches them at their JBCN International school in Parel which is where she spotted Tiyarsquos aptitude for javelin and running and Omrsquos for javelin and shot put She pushed them to participate in the district meet where they wonNitesh Kami left Sanjay Ram right with their physical education teacher Nitin Bawner PicSatej Shinde right Tiya Chopra at University Sports Pavilion in Marine Lines PicAtul KambleSirvala was drawn to the sport and is driven to excel by the feeling of freedom it imparts ldquoI saw a senior javelin player having so much fun during training at the sports academy But since I was barely five or six years old I had to wait until recently 13 to learn to throw the javelin Coach Ravindra Kumar helps merdquoHansika Vinit Vasu from Colaba had to wait out the COVID19 pandemic enforced lockdown to throw till her arm got sore ldquoJavelin has been on my mind for three yearsrdquo says the Bombay City U20 winner ldquoI got to learn it only three months ago I am a national level shot put player and since I also do discus throw I couldnrsquot simultaneously learn the javelin because there could be injury issuesrdquoKandivli lad Ashutosh Bind Bombay City menrsquos U23 winner is fuelled to excel just like his idol Chopra through averse circumstances ldquoI was learning shot put and discusrdquo says the 21yearold ldquountil Neeraj brought in a craze for javelin My father Rajbal works in a garage and was initially hesitant about me becoming a professional athlete We have financial constraints To help my younger brother 20yearold Pankaj started working at a petrol pump My coach Dinanath Maurya at Priyadarshini Sports helped me switch to javelin four years ago Ashutosh has come a long way since not winning any medals early in his sporting career to staying at the Sports Authority of India SAI in Kandivli Things changed for him after winning bronze in shot put in 201617 district meet I also hope to win laurels for the countryrdquoBombay City menrsquos U23 winner Ashutosh Bind is from Kandivli and is doing his Bachelorrsquos in Physical Education from Nagpur UniversityTannishta Dineshkumar 20 the Bombay City womenrsquos U23 winner has had a similar journey Five years ago her coach Virendra Yadav observed that her body type was suitable for javelin throwing Since then there has been no looking back ldquoI started shot put and discus in Class VI at Udayachal High School in Vikhroli Virendra sir then sent me to Vijay Shetty Since I was into discus throw adding javelin to the list was not possible and I shifted to it when I was 15 I have been following Neeraj much before he became a national craze Hersquos been my idol since his U20 days when his 8648m effort won him the World Championship title in 2016 and he also created a new U20 world record by beating Latviarsquos Zigismunds Sirmaisrsquo 8469mrdquo Dineshkumar is a thirdyear psychology student at SIES College in SionApart from these winners there are those in the wings disappointed They wonrsquot be able to participate in the state meet to be held at Dervan in Chiplun from September 30 to October 1 due to lack of Athletics Federation of Indiarsquos AFI UID which is mandatory to compete at state and national levels ldquoThe last date for junior state athletic meet entries was September 23 at firstrdquo says Fernandes ldquobut was extended to September 25 5 pm sharp Those who submitted after the closing date cannot participate Itrsquos unfortunate but AFI rules have become very strictrdquoHe says though there is a rise in the interest in the sport ldquothere is a lot that needs to be done at the grassroot level ensuring athletes have the equipment to train Not like a few who enrol the names without any practice and come directly to the ground We struggle to get kids javelin Also because of the UID issue many athletes could not participate in state meetsrdquoLike Sanjay Ram and Nitesh Kami who received their UID cards on September 26 a day after the closing date since they couldnrsquot afford to pay the required fees of R500 As a result they will not be able to compete in a state meet to be held at Dervan in Chiplun from September 30 to October 1 in U16 javelin and U14 age groups respectively Niteshrsquos father is a watchman Both boys aged 15 and 13 study in BMCrun Hindi medium schools in Kurar village Malad EastldquoWe tried talking to the state organisersrdquo says their coach Nitin Bawner ldquobut they did not accommodate our request Despite winning gold medals these kids wonrsquot be able to take their skills to the next levelrdquo Now they will have to wait till next year and will compete in U20 and U16 respectively