'If Javelin was a team sport, … would be my team members', Neeraj Chopra reveals

Consider an 'Ask me Anything' (AMA) session where Usain Bolt is asking questions to Roger Federer, or one in which Lionel Messi and Virat Kohli are together and answering questions from their fans. Such interactions would fall into the category of 'rarest of rare'. A live example of such a video interaction was witnessed in the Olympic Museum Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday when winner of India's first Olympic gold medal in individual sports, Abhinav Bindra interviewed India's first Olympic gold winner in Track and Field, Neeraj Chopra. Neeraj was in Lausanne to participate in the Diamond League while Bindra was cheering him on as the former finished first with a sensational throw of 89.08m to qualify for the finals in Zurich next month.

Bindra had won gold in 2008 Beijing Olympics in shooting while Neeraj clinched gold in 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Javelin Throw. On Saturday, When India's best-ever Olympians got together, Bindra provided a sneak peek into the untouched facets of Neeraj's life. Two of India's greatest sports icons answered various questions sent by fans from across the world. On the occasion, Neeraj also donated his Javelin that had won him the Olympic gold, to the Olympic Museum.

On being asked, "How do you stay so humble?", Neeraj responded "When someone respects us, we should reciprocate in a bigger way. We learn humility from our family. Sports lasts for only some time but it's our humility that always remains with us."

In the session, Neeraj was asked about his favourite food and he answered 'home cooked'. The star Javelin thrower was further asked "What was the first thought that came to your mind after the Olympic gold win?"

"I had so many thoughts crossing my mind but I was very happy that I did it in Athletics where the likes of Milkha Singh, PT Usha and others had missed the medal by a whisker", Neeraj revealed.

Another very interesting question put to Neeraj was "If Javelin was a team sport, who else would make it to your team?"

"If Javelin was a team sport, Jan Zelezny and Johannes Vetter, who is currently the best Javelin thrower in the world, would be my team members", Neeraj replied with excitement.

Neeraj was further questioned: "When do you think you would cross the 90 metres mark in Javelin Throw?" And he said: "I don't worry about that; I just give my best in every competition and I am pretty happy to be consistent in my performance. Having said that I think as I am constantly reaching 88m-89m, I would cross 90m someday."

Neeraj was also asked about the rise of Javelin Throw as a sport in India ever since his victory in 2021, and India's prospect of winning more medals in the sport in future. Answering the question, Neeraj said "It was the first time in history that two Indian men were in the finals of Javelin Throw at world championships this year and also Annu Rani won a medal in the event at Commonwealth Games 2022 becoming first Indian woman ever.

"A lot has changed since my win in Tokyo, four junior Javelin throwers from India have now crossed the 80m mark. India's future in the sport is definitely great."

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