“Yeh pehla aisa Independence Day hai jo medal ke saath manaya jaayega, toh mere liye yeh special hai! Mera sapna tha ki main apna Tiranga Olympics mein poore world ke saamne lehraun, apne rashtra gaan par. Aur yeh sapna is Independence Day ke pehle pura hua. Main desh ke liye kuch kar paya, yeh yaadgaar rahega,” says Olympics gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.
Ahead of August 15, when the 23-year-old golden boy was in Delhi, and held the National Flag for a photo shoot with us, the atmosphere turned emotional, for everyone present in the vicinity could recall the moment when the athlete wrapped the Tricolour around him, at the stadium in Tokyo! “Nation Flag apne upar lapet te waqt bahut hi achha lag raha tha,” recounts Chopra, from his experience at the recently concluded Olympics, and the Indian Army Subedar in him strongly feels, “Desh ke liye apne andar junoon rakho, aur usko sachhe man se pyaar karo. Aise nahi ke bas bolne ke liye... Hum kuch bhi kha pee ke aise fek dete hain toh hum agar kud sahi se kude ko dustbin mein dalein aur apne desh ko saaf rakhein toh woh bhi ek achhi shuruvat hogi. Desh bhakti sachhe mann se karni chahiye!”
Once back from the Games, Haryana-born Chopra says, “Sabse pehle maine apna gold medal apni maa ko pehenaya, unke gale mein. Aur meri maa bhi kafi emotional ho gayi thi.” And that was bound to happen for Chopra was all of 14 when he left home to train in sports. Looking back at those years, he says he didn’t miss out on the fun that other youngsters of his age had. “Mujhe lag raha hai ki wohi cheez thik rahi, ki mujhe bahut zyada woh cheezein feel nahi huyi, kyunki mujhe aisa lagta tha jo mera routine tha — stadium jaana, training karna, khaana kha ke achhe se so jaana, toh wohi bahut achha lagne laga mujhe. Baki doston ke saath baith ke already maine maze kiye hue the, baat karte the, shaadi wagera mein enjoy karte the toh sports shuru karne ke waqt se woh cheezien dheere dheere kum hona shuru ho gayi. Stadium mein jake, khel kood karke mujhe woh life hi itni pasand aane lagi ki mujhe phir lagne laga ki actually mein yeh asli maza hai. Training ke liye jo junoon tha woh kahin na kahi kaam aaya,” says the track and field athlete who trained at Inspire Institute of Sport in Karnataka.
{{/usCountry}}Once back from the Games, Haryana-born Chopra says, “Sabse pehle maine apna gold medal apni maa ko pehenaya, unke gale mein. Aur meri maa bhi kafi emotional ho gayi thi.” And that was bound to happen for Chopra was all of 14 when he left home to train in sports. Looking back at those years, he says he didn’t miss out on the fun that other youngsters of his age had. “Mujhe lag raha hai ki wohi cheez thik rahi, ki mujhe bahut zyada woh cheezein feel nahi huyi, kyunki mujhe aisa lagta tha jo mera routine tha — stadium jaana, training karna, khaana kha ke achhe se so jaana, toh wohi bahut achha lagne laga mujhe. Baki doston ke saath baith ke already maine maze kiye hue the, baat karte the, shaadi wagera mein enjoy karte the toh sports shuru karne ke waqt se woh cheezien dheere dheere kum hona shuru ho gayi. Stadium mein jake, khel kood karke mujhe woh life hi itni pasand aane lagi ki mujhe phir lagne laga ki actually mein yeh asli maza hai. Training ke liye jo junoon tha woh kahin na kahi kaam aaya,” says the track and field athlete who trained at Inspire Institute of Sport in Karnataka.
{{/usCountry}}Chopra feels that he now stands a good chance at winning the coveted Khel Ratna award, for which he has been nominated thrice in the past. “Ab mujhe Khel Ratna milega toh mujhe achha lagega kyunki agar pehle milta toh mujhe kahi na kahi aise lagta ki kya main deserve karta hun? Lekin ab Olympic champion banne ke baad agar milta hai toh lagega well deserved hai.”
It shall truly be well deserved, for his aim is only to excel in the sport further. “Ek bar jeetna muskhil hai. Lekin bar bar jeetne se pata lagta hai ki sach mein mahan khiladi hai, jaise Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps jinhone bar bar duniya ko apni performance dikhayi,” says Chopra, who is now looking forward to restart his training to make new records, and adds, “Yeh mera medal aa gaya hai, isko main achhe se badiya se pack karake ghar pe rakhunga jaise Commonwealth aur Asian Games ke rakhe hain. Uske baad meri agli training shuru ho jayegi. Aisi baat nahi hai ki mere paas Olympic gold aa gaya toh sab kuch khatm. 90 meters ka mera sapna hai abhi, ki mujhe woh throw karna hai aur fir mujhe World Championship me dobara se gold medals jeetne hain! Consistency hi khiladi ki asli pehechaan hoti hai!”
And for this son of soil, what he missed the most during his journey to become a champion is “Ghar ka khaana!” Mention food, and Chopra is quick to reply: “Europe ka khana bilkul alag hota hai apne India se kyunki jo swaad apko India mein milega woh kahi nahi milega. Bahar bhi hum kayi baar chale jaate hain Indian restaurants mein, lekin India jaisi baat kahi nahi. Maine woh cheez kafi miss kari!”
Author tweets @FizzyBuddha
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