BENGALURU: Back when Neeraj Chopra was very new to the world of advertisements, he didn't know what to do during a sponsor commitment. So Chopra, the apocryphal story goes, gave it his all when a shoot required him to throw a javelin.
One of his handlers took him to the side and had a quiet word. "You can take it easy, it's an advertisement," was supposedly the gist of the message. This incident happened in the pre-Covid era when Chopra was an athlete full of promise. These days, he can legitimately claim to be one of India's greatest athletes.
Already a multiple Olympic and Worlds medallist, he will take another giant step towards sporting immortality from an Indian perspective when the first spear in the event named after him soars over the Sree Kanteerava Stadium's night sky in Bengaluru on Saturday.
A day out from the NC Classic, moved from May after heightened cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, it wasn't a surprise to see the 27-year-old showing the same zeal he once showed to promote a product. Over the last couple of weeks, the javelin ace has had to switch identities depending on the situations.
During training, it would be that of a fierce competitor. When speaking with sponsors — there are over 20 of them for the World Athletics Continental Gold event (a label WA reserves for the big meets) including an 'official skincare partner' — he has had to give guarantees. When dealing with government officials at multiple levels, he has had to marry diplomacy with a charm offensive.
Even though a substantial number of backroom staff have come together to organise the competition, the 2021 Olympic champion has had a lot of things on his plate. His thought process has also involved reducing the spice level of the food to cater to the several world-class athletes who will be in action on Saturday. It has even seen him send out customised letters welcoming all of them to the meet as well as appearing on a show with Navjot Sidhu to promote the event. He has also had to liaise with WA officials to ensure the competition got a new date 'for my dream to come to fruition'. He has even used his X account to sponsor a 'full VVIP experience' for a fan from Coimbatore to catch the action from an exclusive 'Pitch Side Bleachers' enclosure where each ticket is being sold for Rs 9,999 (it comes with a complementary food refreshment box).
Dreamer. Promoter. Organiser. Competitor. Administrator.
He spoke about all of those things at the pre-event press conference. "I feel like I'm in a dream," he said. "Medals are a different thing. But I have given something like this to India and Indian athletes. I'm very happy about that. "This is the beginning of a new chapter in our athletics."
That is why Saturday's event could be significant for Indian athletics. If Chopra winning gold in Tokyo was the country's athletics equivalent of the Moon Landing event, meets like the one on Saturday could help normalise it in the years to come. "There are so many international competitions in countries like Germany every week — A, B, C category events," he said. "That's what I want here in India, at least four to five world-class meets every year. Our athletes should get these opportunities and the public should watch them live.
"I never thought such an event would take place. I am at peace... I'm able to give something back to India."
There's also the question of legacy and competitions like these go a long way in securing it. While this event has the blessings of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) — a pre-requisite — and WA were quickly on board, Chopra's name will provide an added legitimacy to it. 2016 Olympic champ, Thomas Rohler, and 2015 World Champ, Julius Yego, may have come even otherwise but a personal invitation from Chopra sealed it.
When one of the sport's big personalities calls you, you pack your bags to compete in a land you have never competed in before. That's also true for some of the companies who have sponsored the event. There's a learning partner (Duolingo), a content partner (Snapchat) as well as an outdoor partner (Mera Hoarding). It reflects the kind of trust firms have in the Chopra name that they have all come on board to sponsor an inaugural tournament.
At the Stadium itself, the banners have been kept outside and inside the premises. The floodlights have been tested, the aroma of fresh paint lingered on Friday and the spears are in situ.
On Saturday evening, an expectant city will congregate to witness a meet several months in the making.
When the first of the 12 athletes are at the top of the runway, one man will have a smile as wide as the javelin. And rightly so, for this was Chopra's impossible dream made real.