Neeraj Chopra: Make track and field events more attractive and marketable

Neeraj Chopra, India’s only Olympic Gold medallist in track and field, emphasized on making track and field more attractive and marketable for Indian fans on Wednesday in Bengaluru.

Sharing his thoughts on what hinders the popularity of track and field amongst the Indian audience, Chopra commented at the RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet: India. “First of all, I feel that the international competitions where we compete such as the Diamond League, Continental Tours, and World Athletics Championships should be broadcast in India. Currently, we only get to watch the highlights though people want to watch the athletics, they stay up till 1-2 am in the night, and wait for the athlete to play but they face disappointment after not being able to watch,” said the Asian Games champion.

Broadcasting athletics events on TV will enable more people to start watching, to understand, and increase the awareness about the competitions we compete in.”

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The Haryana-born athlete has had an exceptional year so far, with him bagging gold at the Asian Games 2022 and World Athletics Championships 2023 this year, and he is expected to replicate his Tokyo Olympic success next year at the Paris Olympics.

He also spoke about how much India’s sporting ecosystem has developed in the past few years and how hosting international competitions in India can be a game-changer for athletics.

Echoing the fan sentiments, the Tokyo gold medallist said, “If countries like Kenya and Grenada can host international athletics competitions on a world-class level regularly, India also has great capability to do the same. Whenever I meet people from the World Athletics Organization they express their interest in hosting such a tournament in India I’m hopeful if India can host such competitive events more people can witness such Championships in person and be inspired.”

The 25-year-old reminisced about his most memorable moments in life he pointed out the junior world record throw at the World Junior Championships in Poland followed by the Tokyo Olympics which was a life-changing moment for him as the highlights of his career so far.

Also, speaking about his training preparations as he gets back from the festival break he said, “My preparation will begin with removing the excess fat accumulated in the last few days. I had a lot of milk, ghee, churma, and sweets in my hometown while I was there. I tried my best to control it but couldn’t. But I know when I get started with my training I will be able to get rolling in 2-3 weeks time.”