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Coach remembers how a humble, mature junior went on to win an Olympic gold
PUNE As the halo from Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic gold medal for the javelin throw, won at the recently concluded games in Tokyo, arches out across India enveloping the nation with pride, Pune cannot, and must not be forgotten
PUNE As the halo from Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic gold medal for the javelin throw, won at the recently concluded games in Tokyo, arches out across India enveloping the nation with pride, Pune cannot, and must not be forgotten.
“Staying down to earth is one thing which has helped Neeraj Chopra produce great results in his career till now. I wish it remains the same in the future,” commented Subedar Kashinath Naik.
Naik won a bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the javelin throw. Under Naik, Chopra was trained at the early stage of his career at Patiala in Punjab.
Chopra was enrolled as a Junior Commissioned Officer, at the rank of Naib Subedar, in the Indian Army on August 26, 2016. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2018 and the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021 for his meritorious service.
“Since 2015 we are observing him and he is very mature when it comes to handling the sports. During his junior days, he never feared to compete with senior players. This confidence was one of the main reasons he won gold in the Tokyo Olympics,” said Naik.
In February 2021, Chopra had visited the Army Sports Institute (ASI). He was helped by the coaches and ASI officials to sort out the issue of passport before heading for training to Sweden. Thereafter, Chopra took a string of international training tours before heading to the Olympics
“On February 6, when he visited Pune, Neeraj looked fit and he was hungry for medals. He spent some time with other Army officials and also visited my home. He is very humble and polite, which makes him a great sports person,” added Naik. Naik assisted Australian coach, the late Gary Calvert, when Chopra won gold with a junior world record at the U-20 World Championships in Poland, 2016.
Sindhu at peace with her semi-final match
PV Sindhu, who won a bronze medal at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, is used to pressure. Her ability to stay motivated won her the medal after going down in the semi-finals.
“After the semi-final, I was really sad and it was a mixed feeling as I lost the opportunity to compete in the final and I have to prepare for the bronze medal match in a day’s time. My parents motivated me and my coach Park Tae Sang told me about how much I have worked for the last five years and finishing fourth or on the podium is two different things,” said Sindhu in the city on Wednesday.
Sindhu felt the momentum in the semi-final shifted after the shuttle hitting the net cord at 18-18 in the first game and things could have been different if she had won the first set.
“I was playing well and was ahead in the first set. I really could not change what had happened but yeah… such things happen and we need to move ahead,” she said.
Tokyo was a completely different experience for Sindhu than the Rio games, as she went as an underdog in 2016 while in 2021 she was expected to win a medal.
“It was a very different experience altogether, as people were saying we want a medal again. I took it in a positive way and gave my best on the courts,” said Sindhu.
The ace shuttler is happy that many sponsors (private and government) are coming forward to support athletes from a young age.
“Now things have changed, many corporate are coming forward to sponsor budding athletes. Even the government has launched various schemes which are benefitting the athletes. Sponsors in sports play an important role in the support system,” Sindhu said.
Sindhu is getting ready to achieve new heights and new dreams after the Tokyo Olympics.
Pune connection
PV Sindhu fondly remembers her visit to the city when she was 16 to take part in Sushant Chipalkatti memorial badminton tournament at the Modern Sports Complex.
“Having lot of tournaments at age group, state and national, benefits players and it should keep happening as players grow by participating in more tournaments,” said Sindhu.
