Khandra village of Panipat, Haryana. A 14 year old boy came out of the house wearing kurta-pajama. His weight was much more than boys of his age, about 70 kg. As we went a little further, we met some boys from the village. They started teasing him by calling him Sarpanch ji.
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The boy felt bad about this. He clashed with those boys. Then he returned home and told his mother that everyone teases him by calling him Sarpanch. Mother explained and said – No problem. Being a sarpanch is not bad.
The same ‘Sarpanch’ is now 26 years old. The name is Neeraj Chopra, who gave India silver after gold in the Olympics. Neeraj is the third Indian player to win medals in two consecutive Olympics.
By winning silver in the Paris Olympics, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win two consecutive Olympic medals.
Neeraj’s story from becoming a sarpanch for the village children to becoming a double Olympic medalist is quite interesting. This includes his parents, uncles, grandfathers and old friends. Dainik Bhaskar heard the entire story of Neeraj from him. Read the ground report from his home…
Grandmother used to feed a lot of milk and curd, at the age of 14 she weighed 70 kg.
Neeraj’s village is about 15 kilometers from Panipat. They have a joint family. In an interview given to Rajya Sabha TV, Neeraj had told that there are 17 members in his family. There is a board installed in the village, on which it is written – Residence of Shri Neeraj Chopra, World Olympic Gold Medalist.
Board installed in Neeraj Chopra’s village. After going a little further in this street, there is Neeraj’s house.
Passing through the boarded up street, we reached Neeraj Chopra’s house. Here we meet his uncle Bhim Chopra. He tells the story of Neeraj becoming a thrower.
Uncle says, ‘We are four brothers. Neeraj is the eldest boy among the children of four brothers. Because of this he was everyone’s favorite. We are farmers, we have had cows and buffaloes in the house since the beginning. Therefore there was no shortage of milk, curd and butter. My mother used to feed him a lot of milk, curd and butter since childhood. At the age of 14, Neeraj’s weight was more than 70 kg.
Everyone called Neeraj Sarpanch because of wearing kurta-pajama.
Bhim Chopra further explains, ‘Neeraj used to wear kurta-pajama instead of pants-shirt. For this reason the children of the village called him Sarpanch. He had become fat after eating milk and ghee. When the weight started increasing according to age, we became worried.
‘The whole family sat and discussed that his body would deteriorate like this. He gets trained somewhere, so that his body gets in shape. This looks a little okay. We told him to go and join the gym now.
‘On our request, he went to Panipat and joined the gym. There is Shivaji Stadium in Panipat, Neeraj’s gym was next to it. He was young, so we used to go to drop him. Many times it happened that we got late in reaching the gym. In such a situation, he used to sit on the ground and wait for us.
Veer Shivaji Stadium in Panipat, where Neeraj threw the javelin for the first time.
‘Once he was sitting in the stadium. Some boys in front were practicing javelin throw. Jaiveer, who was among them, told Neeraj to come and try it once. Neeraj threw the javelin correctly and to a great distance the first time itself. Jaiveer advised him to throw javelin. Neeraj also got engrossed in this game. He went to Panchkula and practiced. Then went to the national camp.
Before the Olympics, there were reports that Neeraj had suffered a muscle strain. He had also withdrawn his name from the Diamond League held in July.
Mother said- Neeraj would get irritated if the children called him Sarpanch and would fight with him.
Mother Saroj recalls Neeraj’s childhood days and says, ‘In childhood, his weight was much more than the children of his age. The village children called him Sarpanch.
The javelin that Neeraj threw for the first time is still with his friend.
When Neeraj threw the javelin for the first time, Sunny Sardar was also present at Shivaji Stadium. He says, ‘Jaiveer and I used to practice javelin throw in the stadium along with some other senior players. One day we gave him a javelin too.
‘Jaiveer had told us after seeing Neeraj’s throw, this boy can do something. He explained to Neeraj that he should practice with us. Neeraj agreed to his advice and started coming regularly.
This is Sunny Sardar. He claims that he has Neeraj Chopra’s first javelin, which he always keeps carefully.
Sunny Sardar shows a javelin and claims that it is the same javelin which Neeraj had thrown for the first time. Sunny says, ‘I have kept this javelin safely. It is no longer worth practicing. Many throwers asked me for this javelin for practice, but I did not give it to them.
Fitness trainer said- Neeraj was very shy
Jitendra Jaglan used to train Neeraj in the gym. He says, ‘Neeraj came to me when he was very overweight. He was very shy. A few days a week I used to make him exercise in the gym and some days I used to take him for running in the stadium.
The gym where Neeraj took training is now a hotel.
The gym near the stadium in Panipat where Neeraj had gone to lose weight, today a hotel runs there. Gym trainer Jitendra Jaglan says that the gym was closed a few years ago. Now I make children do weight training on the ground itself.
Javelin throw academy opened in Haryana after Neeraj’s victory
After Neeraj won gold in Tokyo, many academies for javelin throw have opened in Haryana. Jatin, who was a national level athlete, also gives training in Neeraj’s village. He says, ‘Not only Khandra, but children from other villages also come to practice at this centre. More than 40 children practice athletics here.
Jatin says, ‘After Neeraj won the medal in Tokyo Olympics, you will find an athletics academy in every two villages here.’
Rajkumar Mithan, former Secretary of Haryana Athletics Association and now Joint Secretary of Indian Athletics Association, says, ‘Now many private academies for single event, i.e. Javelin, have opened in Haryana. Haryana Government is running a training center in Panchkula. Centers have opened in many places including Karnal, Rohtak, Hisar. More than 40 children take training in these.
