How a 24 year old made a downcast country smile !
Neeraj Chopra, Gold Medal winner, Tokyo Olympics🥇
“Everyone thinks about winning a medal all the time. But when I am competing, I aim to nail a near-perfect throw. Once I complete that, I take everything, even medals, as a bonus.”
A sick country 😷
As Covid battered our Cricket crazy country in first half of 2021, this 24 year old junior Army officer has applied balm to an injured India in the second half.
Politicians continue their daily shenanigans, media keep elevating the shrill quotient , celebrities seem to be living in a parallel universe (doing Insta videos on how to keep fit — as a common Indian gets ground under the wheels of a slowing economy) and everyone is fighting with everyone else on Twitter — this unadulterated achievement soothes our soul.
It’s like a beautiful rainbow in a storm — quiet, majestic, sublime!
In a non athletic country — where 61 per cent of all deaths are attributed to lifestyle or non-communicable diseases —
a country where parents start preparing their ten year old for engineering seats even when 80% of the annual 1.5 million engineering graduates will remain employed — sports is still not a “safe” option
a country where state think that meritocracy sucks and reservation is the magic wand to improve the lot of people (+70% reservation levels)
a country whose only individual gold was won by shooter Abhinav Bindra in 2008.
And that’s why Neeraj’s achievement matters so much today.
It reminds us what sports can do — teach our youth tenacity, discipline, patience, endurance. That there is a world beyond mobile gaming and Netflix binging.
That nepotism/corruption in politics, movies, corporate world is a harsh reality but is not a show stopper.
That a farmer’s son from a mofussil village can be a world class athlete.
Fatso takes up the challenge ! 😋
Neeraj was born to a farmer household in 1997 in a small village near Panipat, Haryana. He grew up with more than 17 other members and was the eldest children.
Fed by a loving grandmother, 11 year old Neeraj weighed 80 kg . His uncle was strict and took him to the nearby Panipat Stadium in a bid to get him in shape.
He was spotted in 2011 by javelin thrower Jaiveer while he was jogging at the stadium. Though he was forced to run, he didn’t enjoy it. So on Jaiveer’s advise he took up javelin.
And he was hooked on it.
While rest of India watched CarryMinati and Ashish Chanchalani — he spent endless hours watching every YouTube video of Jan Zelenzy, a retired track and field athlete.
“I discovered I could throw it far and the realization helped me regain my self-esteem.”
Let the Medal Shower Begin 🌠
In 2016 World U20 championship, he set a world record for U20 at 86.48m.
He won also Gold at World Junior Championships (2016), South Asian Games (2016), Asian Championships (2017), Commonwealth Games (2018), Asian Games (2018).
He joined the Indian army in 2016.
“I accepted the job as I was desperately in need of a job to sustain my training. Nobody in my family has a government job, now I have received the one and now I can help my family financially.”
We have waited for 100-years for a track and field medal in the Olympics! ✨
Neeraj has kept his phone off for a year before the Tokyo Olympics 2020 to avoid any distraction. He says his struggle to give the best to his family as a young boy and achieve his goals motivated him to reach where he had.
“I keep visualizing my throws in Tokyo. I imagine the setting and the area and how I will perform. I do this so that it won’t feel like a new experience when I am actually there and so that I won’t be overwhelmed by the situation”.
After speaking to him, the Indian PrimeMinister Narendra Modi tweeted “…What Neeraj Chopra has achieved today will be remembered forever.… He played with remarkable passion and showed unparalleled grit.”
“When we start from a small place, there are times when you feel like giving up as we lose strength to fight with situations. However, that is a time when your true patience is tested so make sure you keep faith in yourself intact. “
For a decade now the economists have been telling us about India’s Demographic dividend — and how this will help us compete with China.
But as the “pandemic generation” joins the Covid shaken Indian economy — after attending online lectures second year in row sitting on dining tables — it will rudely be shaken by the harsh reality.
Youth from non — urban areas would be at an additional disadvantage.
Rather than the state — it’s better that our youth look upto sportsmen like Chopra for guidance on surviving tough times and giving life their best shot!
Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it :-)
Bonus: Haryana, Punjab form 40% of Olympic squad despite 4% contribution to India’s population!
