Paris silver medallist Neeraj Chopra is impressed by the fight that young athletes like shuttler Lakshya Sen and boxer Nishant Dev showed during the recently-concluded Summer Games in the French capital, and although India fell short of matching the tally of the previous edition in Tokyo, the star javelin thrower is hopeful that Indian athletes are on the right track to translate the fourth-place heartbreaks to medals in the next edition in LA 2028.

Chopra was quite literally the only silver lining in an otherwise underwhelming campaign in Paris where India finished 71st on the medal tally with one silver and five bronze medals. In Tokyo, India returned with a best-ever medal tally of seven, including Neeraj’s gold.

But the reigning world champion javelin thrower, who is back in training, days after throwing a season-best of 89.45m to finish second to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (92.97m) in Paris, lamented that India could match the Tokyo tally had wrestler Vinesh Phogat got a medal.

“Indian athletes came up with a decent show in Paris. The best part about our campaign was that all the athletes gave a tough fight against the best in the world. When I spoke to the younger guys like Lakshya Sen (Badminton), Nishant Dev (Boxing), I felt that they came to Paris with a purpose, which is very important. This also shows that the future is in good hands,” Neeraj told The Statesman during a virtual interaction organised by JSW.

“Yes, the number of medals may not reflect the same as Tokyo but there were many fourth-place finishes, more than the previous edition. Also if Vinesh (Phogat) would have got a medal, our tally could have been the same as Tokyo. But overall, India’s performance has been impressive, and if we continue to fight that way, all the fourth-place finishes could be translated into medals,” he added.

During the interaction, Neeraj confirmed his participation in the Lausanne Diamond League on August 22, and has therefore decided to move back to Switzerland to resume his training. The Panipat-born also said that he will return home only after another month, and then will discuss taking a call on undergoing surgery for a niggle in his groin that has been bothering him for many months now.

“Luckily, the Paris Olympics went well, and I didn’t have much difficulty with my injury. So I thought of completing the season and taking the doctor’s advice regarding treatment afterwards. At the end of September, I’ll be back in India after the season ends. I will meet the doctor for my groin issues,” he said.

On Friday, the 26-year-old posted a video on social media of himself training in the Swiss town of Magglingen, where the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport is located, where he can be seen training with a medicine ball.

“My mother sometimes sees these videos and tells me to train lightly. She can’t see me put myself under so much pain. But I tell her, if I ease up on hard work, others will over take me in competition,” he chuckled.

Buffalos are also gifted in our region

Days after Arshad Nadeem became Pakistan’s first track and field athlete to clinch an Olympic gold medal, the star javelin thrower was rolled out a red-carpet welcome back home and has been accorded several high-level ceremonies back home.

But what has caught the attention of fans has been how the 27-year-old Pakistani thrower’s father-in-law gifted him a buffalo for his Olympic record-breaking feat in Paris.

However, Neeraj felt it was a common practice back home to be given things like desi ghee, tractor and bullet, when asked if he had received any such unique gifts after his gold medal win in Tokyo.

“I was gifted desi ghee once. Back home in Haryana also we get things like these as gifts: 10 kilo desi ghee or 50 kilos of desi ghee. Or ladoos. There are promises made: ‘If Neeraj wins this competition, I’ll give him 50 kgs of ghee.’ I would hear these things being said since I was kid, this was when circle kabaddi and wrestling were really popular.”

“Ghee is gifted because we believe that it helps increase strength, which we need in our sport. Buffalos are also gifted in our region. Wrestlers and kabaddi players are also gifted with things like Bullet motorbikes or tractors,” Chopra said.

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