Double Olympic medallist hopes to spark javelin revolution in India

Sachin Yadav looked understandably awed sitting next to three Olympic medal winning javelin throwers in Neeraj Chopra, Thomas Rohler and Julius Yego but his mere presence on that glittering dais holds a deeper significance to it. It was a febrile representation of Chopra's dream of turning javelin into a household sport across the nation. In that context, the Neeraj Chopra Classic here on Saturday could be India's equivalent to Mondo Classic, a gala pole vault event hosted by world record holder and Olympic champion Armando Dulpantis in his hometown Uppsala, Sweden. Duplantis is also driven by his unquenchable drive to break his own world records, and he has done it 15 times so far, but Chopra has wider ambitions. Chopra underlined that thought of inspiring the next line of Indian javelin throwers. "First of all, I want to thank you, Julius, Thomas and everyone else from the heart of India. All are good friends of mine and thank you so much for coming. Finally, we are sitting here with such great throwers. I am very happy that such an event is happening in India," Chopra momentarily appeared emotional. The double Olympic medallist also ensured that the host country will get a fair representation. Hence, apart from himself and Sachin, an Asian Championship silver winner, India will field Rohit Yadav, Sahil Silwal and Yashvir Singh. But Chopra is not alone in his venture, as he has accomplished champions like Rohler and Yego at his side. All these young India javelin throwers have an inner connection to Rohler, the 2016 Olympic gold medal- list from Germany, as they pick up a lot of tips from his popular YouTube channel. Rohler said it was his duty to share his experiences and knowledge to the aspiring athletes. "I always love to share because only if I share, I will get into communication. I can leave a footprint. And to me, distances, medals, and all these things are just numbers on paper. I love to have a footprint in the sport. "And this is why I don't hesitate to talk to the talents and also to open up because we do have experience in javelin. I'm really happy and I'm glad that I can be an inspiration for many out there," he said. "I know I also had an impact on these careers. So, this is just beautiful to see. And this is exactly the foot- print that kind of makes me as happy as being an Olympic champion," said Rohler. Chopra has already seen some upswing in the fortunes of javelin after all these efforts, as more sponsors are willing to back these events. The Neeraj Chopra Classic here has the backing from an impressive bevy of corporates from private and public sectors — from JSW to BPCL. "Yes, the sponsorship is increasing. I think private companies like JSW, Reliance and others are sup- porting the athletes individually now, as it was not happening before," Chopra said. "The athletes are getting a chance to compete abroad. The government's policy has also supported the athletes very well," he said. Chopra understands that India still has miles to traverse before challenging traditional athletics powerhouses consistently in international competitions, and he wants to see a change at grassroots level. "I am from a village. I didn't have a stadium. I used to go to Panipat for training. If there was a stadium nearby, maybe more children would be able to train. I see one thing when I fly to Europe. We can see some 50 football stadiums every 10-15 minutes," he said. (PTI)