Neeraj Chopra is known for his grit and determination as well as bringining laurels to the nation time and again. He hails from Haryana’s Khandra village and was on born 24 December 1997. As a teenager Neeraj was little overweight and his used to get a alot of crtisim from family to play a sport. After constant badgering and started training at the Shivaji Stadium in Panipat. Though running never piqued his interest and like many young boy of his age was more inclined towards cricket.
But one day his eyes caught attention of few seniors throwing javelins at the stadium and got hooked to javelin throw. He started trainingraining rigorously to get into better shape. During interaction with the media, Neeraj was quoted syaing, “At the age of 11, I weighed 80 kilos. To get into shape, I visited the Panipat Stadium during vacations. Although I was running to shed weight, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. “I used to stand at some distance and watch my senior Jaiveer, who has represented Haryana in javelin, practice. One day, at his behest, I tried the javelin. I discovered I could throw it far and the realisation helped me regain my self-esteem.
To get into the shape, he Cut down on having fatty foods, in particular deep fried items and sweets, it was a uphill task but he was determined to get into shape and do well in his newfound sporting endeavour. Panipat’s Shivaji Stadium didnt he best of facilities, coaches or tracks as a result he relocated to the Athletics Nursery and started trainig at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula. Another reason to shift base was that Tau Devi Lal Stadium had a synthetic track and was visited by many national-level javelin throwers.
He first came into the limelight in the National Junior Athletics Championship in 2012 when he won the he gold medal and scored managed a record throw of 68.46 metres. This pavied the way for many more splendid years in the sport. Though he struggled for some years but bounced to clinch gold at the IAAF World U20 Championships, where he managed a junior record throw distance of 86.48 metres.
This remarkable performance made Chopra the first-ever world-champion of the country, and helped put India on the map for javelin throw .His hard work paid dvindend when Neeraj Chopra became India’s first ever javelin thrower to win a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games. He improved his Commonwealth Games performance of 86.47 metres with a throw of 88.06 metres at the Asian Games.
In May, 2019, Neeraj Chopra had undergone elbow surgery which caused him to miss the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships and the National Open Athletics Championships. The comeack man, came with a bang by qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.86m at the Athletics Central North East Meeting League. He kept improving with every throw – In the starting He threw the spear to 81.63m, followed with 82m and 82.57. Neeraj Chopra took social media and wrote, “87.86 mtr, Feeling super awesome to be back in the competition mode. Thank you everyone for your good wishes and supporting me always🙏जय हिंद 🇮🇳.”
India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra Jeet Aapki by Shiv Khera was a big motivation during 16-month rehabilitation period following an elbow surgery last year. The news was confirmed by Neeraj uncle Bhim Chopra and was quoted saying, ““While he would tell us about meditation, it was a surprise for all us to see him meditate when he visited home before going to South Africa, his current training base. He carried Shiv Khera’s book Jeet Aapki and often told us that it’s all about motivation once he gets fully fit.”
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