“Son, lift less weight” - Neeraj Chopra shares his mother’s reaction to seeing his weightlifting training videos

India’s star athlete Neeraj Chopra shared that his mother, Saroj Devi, often advises him to lift lighter weights and put less strain on himself during training sessions due to her concerns about potential injuries and pain.

In a video shared on social media, Neeraj says (translated from Hindi):

“I get to meet my mother very little, but whenever I talk to her, whatever she says is very simple. Whenever she sees my weightlifting or hard training [videos], she says, ‘Son, lift less weight,’ because she thinks it takes a lot of effort to lift or that I can get injured.”

“Then I say, ‘Mother, it is not like that. If I lift lesser weights, other people will lift heavier weights, so they will be able to throw [javelins] longer.’ I think every mother hopes their son or daughter can train a little less and achieve success because they cannot bear to see our pain whenever we train,” he added.

Neeraj Chopra made history after securing a silver medal in the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, finishing in second behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem. With this, he became the first Indian athlete to win both a gold medal and a silver medal in the Olympic Games.

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Where is Neeraj Chopra now?

After his historic consecutive Olympic medal win in Paris, Neeraj Chopra opted to move to Germany to seek medical advice regarding a groin injury, as per media reports.

As a result, he had to postpone his homecoming to India and miss the meeting hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the returning Olympians on Independence Day.

Neeraj Chopra will reportedly stay in Germany for one to two months and will likely miss the upcoming Diamond League Games based on the medical advice he receives.

As per a report shared by IndiaToday, JSW Sports’ head of sports excellence and scouting, Manisha Malhotra, said that Neeraj is likely to undergo minor surgery to solve an issue with a hernia that is causing pain in his groin.

However, Neeraj will hope to overcome his injury obstacle and return to the track this year as he prepares for the upcoming 2026 Asian Games.