There might never be another Neeraj Chopra from Haryana in future

Neeraj Chopra was an overweight young boy at the age of 13. Ten years later he is being considered a medal favorite in the men’s javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Neeraj’s rise to fame has not been due to the system but despite it. His rise aptly sums up why India, a nation of billions, isn’t able to churn out top-level athletes on a regular basis to make an impact at the Olympics.

Read: Neeraj Chopra and Tajinderpal Singh can clinch medals at Tokyo Olympics, says former athletics chief coach

Neeraj’s parental uncle Bhim Chopra was candid in saying that Chopra’s joint family, hailing from the village of Kandra in the Panipat district of Haryana, never knew that javelin was a part of sports. In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, he said:

“In Haryana we have heard of wrestling, boxing and kabaddi but never of javelin throw. We took Neeraj to the stadium for health benefits. When he started javelin throwing, we came to know it is a part of sports,” recalls Neeraj’s uncle.

Being overweight was a big concern for Chopra’s family and they wanted Neeraj to pursue some sort of physical activity to keep his increasing waistline in check.

Since there were no sports activities happening in the village, it was another issue. Therefore, whenever Neeraj’s uncle went to Panipat from Kandra, a distance of 15km one way, for business trips post lunch, Neeraj also accompanied him.

“We use to drop Neeraj at the local Panipat stadium to do some exercise. And, picked him up when we finished the day work,” said his uncle.

It was during one of those trips that Neeraj Chopra came across national level javelin thrower Jay Chaudhary at the stadium.

Panipat stadium where Neeraj trained in his formative years

Jay asked Neeraj to try his hand at javelin. He was impressed by his power to hurl the spear to a distance of 40m. Jay was instrumental in teaching the fundamentals of javelin throwing to Neeraj before he joined the national camp.

“Learning how to throw javelin was a turning point in Neeraj’s life. With the support of the family and well-wishers things started falling into place. He is now being considered a medal prospect. We all are looking forward to track and field events at the Tokyo Olympics,” said Bhim.

Sadly, Neeraj's success story hasn’t changed much at the grassroots level in Haryana. The Panipat stadium, where Neeraj learned the fundamentals of javelin, is unkept and doesn’t have basic facilities for youngsters. It even lacks basic hygiene requirements like a proper washroom.

“We don’t think Panipat stadium is being maintained. It is deserted. Since there is no grassroots program in the state for javelin, we don’t see young kids in village following Neeraj’s footsteps,” said Neeraj’s uncle.

At the 2016 World U20 Athletics Championships, Neeraj’s gold winning throw of 86.48m, created a junior world record. Two years later, he won gold in the men’s javelin throw event at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth and Jakarta Asian Games.

The story is similar in case of other potential athletes who are competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Haryana’s teenage 10m air pistol shooters Manu Bhaker from Jhajar and Saurabh Chaudhary from the Baghpat region of Uttar Pradesh came up on their own.

Most Indian olympians like Neeraj Chopra succeed despite the system

Manu Bhaker

Both Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary weren’t a product of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) development program. Budding shooters who excel at the national level in their respective events get facilities when they attend the national camp. The camp is funded by the government.

Manu and Saurabh were only drafted into the national camp after they made their mark at the national level. Before that they trained on their own at different venues.

Manu was involved in multiple sports including martial arts in her formative years. She took up target shooting when she was between 14.

At the 2017 Asian Junior Shooting Championships, Manu earned a silver medal in a 10m air pistol. It was a turning point in her life. Since 2017, Manu has been a regular member of the national camp.

Saurabh, in his formative years, trained at makeshift shooting ranges in Baghpat. In 2016, he was a member of the junior national team. He shot 565 out of 600 in the Junior World Cup in Gabala and finished 10th.

The teenage shooter from UP has made good progress since 2017. In 2018, Saurabh won gold in men’s 10m air pistol event at the Jakarta Asian Games. Satyapal Singh, a Dronacharya Awardee in para-athletics, had his say on the current system. He said:

“There are several talented juniors who don’t get timely support. Only a miniscule number of budding athletes graduated to the senior level. Since there is no organised system, one odd athlete will continue to come up on his own."

Rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra is the only Indian to have won individual gold in the men’s 10m air rifle at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Abhinav was lucky to have the financial support of his parents as well as government to chalk out his own individual program to excel at the Olympics.

As of now, it would seem that India’s sports administration wakes up to predict medal tally prior to the Olympic Games, once every four years. The trend is likely to continue until the focus shifts to grassroots development.