“Neeraj Chopra ‘Special’, He Delivers When It Matters”: Kiren Rijiju, Anurag Thakur To NDTV

Neeraj Chopra lived up to his ‘Golden Boy’ tag, bagging another gold medal on the global stage. Neeraj’s effort of 88.17 meters in the final. Though Neeraj couldn’t touch the 90-meter mark in the Men’s Javelin Throw final, he was elated to add another medal to his decorated trophy cabinet. Though India remains a cricketing nation, Neeraj’s heroics in the field of athletics have sent waves of jubilation all across the sporting universe. India’s current and former sports ministers, Anurag Thakur and Kiren Rijiju, lauded the way Neeraj has managed to step up and deliver at every moment that mattered.

In a chat with NDTV after Chopra’s gold medal-winning feat in Budapest, Rijiju highlighted how Neeraj’s ability to soak pressure and deliver on the stage where it matters, makes him ‘special’.

“Before the Tokyo Olympics when preparations were going on in the lockdown period, Neeraj was one of the few athletes who were capable of winning the medal. Because of a shoulder injury, which he was prone to, we were worried. Then he was given special care and a support system. He is completely guided by his team, and goes up step by step. Then he delivered on the final day when it mattered. That is his special thing. He is not distracted by things that are happening around him. This makes him special.

“I told him to not take tension and just focus. He made everyone proud. He made the country proud. These kinds of moments don’t come often. Next year in the Paris Olympics, I am watching on a few other athletes who can rise to the occasion. Neeraj is leading from the front, he has achieved it on the biggest stage possible,” Rijiju said.

Anurag Thakur, India’s current sports minister, sees Neeraj and other athletes’ rise as a sign of how progressive the country’s sporting ecosystem has become in the last few years.

“Everyone knew that Neeraj was going to win. Not now, but also from past performances like the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Tokyo Olympics, or the U20 title, he made India proud. He is the Golden Boy of Athletics and we are all proud of him. But along with him, two other gentlemen have also done really well. This clearly shows how well India are doing in the field of sports. If you look at the last 6 months’ performances, be it Commonwealth Games, hockey, or boxing, every game, you see Indians are doing extremely well.

“The focus has been on sports in the last 9 years, the way infrastructure has been improved, the budgets have been made three times higher by PM Modi. When the Prime Minister himself takes so much improvement in sports, that makes things easier for players to concentrate.  Let this effort go on for the future. We are looking at the Asian Games, hoping for the highest-ever medal haul,” said Thakur.