From being an overweight kid to becoming Olympic champion: Neeraj Chopra reflects on life and career

Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra revealed how and under what circumstances he took up javelin throw as a sport growing up. The most decorated track and field athlete from this part of the world admitted to being overweight as a kid, adding people used to tell him that he would not get into sports if he didn’t think about shedding some fat off his body, only after which he decided to work on himself.

Speaking on the ‘Fit India Champions’ podcast, Chopra admitted feeling let down mentally over those remarks. He said his life changed after he decided to go to a stadium for the first time in 2011 and pick up the javelin.

“I had excess flab when I was young, and people kept telling me I cannot get into sport because of being obese and overweight. Listening to all these, however, never made me feel mentally down. I wanted to turn around my physique and rectify it. Everything changed when I went to the stadium in 2011 and took up javelin,” Chopra said on the podcast.

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Chopra reflected on his incredible journey thus far, saying his hard work over the years paid dividends, with the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games gold medal in javelin being the highlight of his glowing career.

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“That's when my journey started, and in 2021, I bagged the gold in Tokyo. I'm happy to have given my 100 per cent. The medal was an added bonus, but all I wanted was to be happy with my performance,” Neeraj added.

‘Different sports growing in India’ – Chopra

Having done exceedingly well in his field over the past few years by winning countless medals at the top level, Chopra praised the rise of other sports in the country, mentioning archery, chess and shooting in the same breath.

“Every sport is growing leaps and bounds in the country, from chess to archery to shooting and athletics. I'm also particularly impressed by (long jumper) Sreeshankar Murali and (steeplechaser) Avinash Sable. India is doing well across all sports,” said Neeraj.

The Olympic medalist also acknowledged better sporting facilities in the country, with new technologies finding their space at the SAI in Patiala, where, alongside others, he often trains.

“Sports science facilities too are also increasing. There are new technologies installed at the SAI Centre in Patiala, where I train; right from cutting-edge fitness checking machines to recovery equipment and state-of-the-art javelin throw machines. With so much advancements being made, we are very well placed to challenge European athletes,” Chopra added.