KOCHI: Late American baseball player Babe Ruth’s quote accompanies the WhatsApp display picture of Neeraj Chopra. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up”, it reads, next to a picture of a lion with a penetrating gaze. Social media profile pictures of many players are misleading. But not in the case of the 19-year-old javelin thrower, who caused a stir last year by winning the World Junior Championship with a record effort.
Neeraj knows what he does. Whether it’s selection of display pictures or competitions.
“I’ve read about him and when I came across this quote, I thought, ‘oh, it’s good’. It makes perfect sense in the life of a sportsman. No matter what hurdles we have to clear, we won’t fail unless we think we’ve failed. It sums up my life,” said the youngster from Panipat after hurling the spear to 83.32m at the Asian Grand Prix in Jiaxing, China. It got him silver and a ticket to the World Championship to be held in London this August.
Ranked eighth in the world, Neeraj would enter the London event as a contender, a scenario that is rarely associated with in Indian athletes. Neeraj is aware of the expectations.
“Life has been different since becoming the world junior champion. It’s like being led into a well-lit room through dark stairs. People recognise me. Even opponents devise tactics after taking note of me. I’m there in their discussions. Personally, I abhor being in the limelight. But I don’t have an option. So I take expectations lightly. I try not to let adulations and laurels affect me,” he says.
The coming week would put his mental make-up to test again. Aussie coach Garry Calvert, who was instrumental in shaping his career, is leaving. The AFI hasn’t been kind to his request for an extensed contract and is scouting for a new taskmaster.
“We’ll get Neeraj a better foreign coach,” says deputy national coach Radhakrishnan Nair. Neeraj is also keen to avoid a clash with the federation on this. He expects the AFI, his employer Indian Army and his sponsor JSW to continue their support. With the Asian and World Championships lined up, distractions are the last things on his mind. He looks ahead, like the gazing lion on his display picture.
“World Championship is my target. I’m just opening up myself to competitions. I want to peak just before August,” he signs off.
Neena V of Kerala jumped 6.37m to clinch long jump gold.
shan.as@newindianexpress.com