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Neeraj Chopra has been there, done that. He’s a two-time Olympic medallist. He’s a world champion. He’s a Diamond League meet winner. He’s won golds at Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Asian Championships, South Asian Games, Paavo Nurmi Games and World U-20 Championships. He’s been recognised with a Padma Shri Award for his achievements and bringing honour to the country.
And yet, an event next month, shifted from Panchkula to Bengaluru due to logistical reasons, is what he believes is his contribution back to the nation. Neeraj Chopra Classic, or NC Classic, will see the light of day on May 24. In the process he will join the likes of Mondo Duplantis and Keely Hodgkinson who have tournaments named after them.
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“Initially, I didn’t know anything about it. As I always say, when I started competing, I didn’t have a sports background. I didn’t even know if I would be able to participate for India,” said Neeraj in a media interaction.
“Gradually, I worked hard, step-by-step and improved. When I started playing internationally, especially in Diamond Leagues, I used to compete with foreign athletes. That’s when I realised that I can do anything and I got a lot of help after winning the Olympic medals. I was talking to Jan Zelezny (his coach) about this event and he said that it would be good if it is named after me.
“I am very excited. I have won Olympic and other medals for the country. Now with this event, I am giving back something to Indian athletics, to Indian athletes and the fans,” he further added.
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The Category A event, as per World Athletics, will see participation from the likes of Grenada’s Anderson Peters and Germany’s Thomas Rohler. Peters is a two-time world champion and Rohler is the gold-medallist from the 2016 Olympics. Chopra stated he’s also invited Pakistani Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem but is yet to get a confirmation.
Putting his name to an event, inviting the best javelin throwers in the world and getting the requisite approvals has been a different beast altogether for Chopra. He’s gone from focusing only on his training to playing the perfect host for the NC Classic.
“There are many things that I didn’t know existed. That the light is not bright enough, it should be so lux. I didn’t even know this. We just knew that we had to go and play. Lights are on. But there’s things like lights needed to showcase the public. Is the washroom okay? Is the gym okay? How will the international athletes find the facilities? Will the hotels be good?”
“The food, the javelins, the grass, the track, changing rooms, seating for the public are all things that I didn’t know were important. But there are a lot of things to keep in mind,” said Chopra on the challenges of hosting an event.
The 27-year-old said the NC Classic will be an annual competition and he is hoping that events other than javelin will be added in the future. Initially planned for Panchkula, the event has been moved to Bengaluru for logistical reasons.
“I wanted the event in Panchkula but there are certain issues related to lighting at the stadium there. World Athletics requirement is 600 lux (a measure of the intensity of light), which is not there (in Panchkula) and it will take time (to install it),” he said.
“So, we have decided to shift the event to Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. We have a team there and it will be a lot easier for the event to be staged there,” said the 27-year-old who is also supported by Bengaluru-based JSW Sports.
NC Classic will be jointly organised by the athlete and JSW Sports in collaboration with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and World Athletics.
Besides the international athletes, the event will also feature Indian athletes such as Rohit Yadav. Chopra revealed there will be room for three-four Indians, including himself, in the competition.
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