Khandra’s ‘Sarpanch’, wanted to be thin, won Olympic gold: Neeraj weighed 70 kg at the age of 14, threw javelin and became champion

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The boy felt bad about this. He got into a fight with those boys. Then he returned home and told his mother that everyone teases him by calling him Sarpanch. His mother explained to him- It doesn’t matter. Being a Sarpanch is not bad.

The same ‘Sarpanch’ is now 26 years old. His name is Neeraj Chopra, India’s star javelin thrower and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist. Neeraj is also expected to win gold in the Paris Olympics. His events will begin on Tuesday, 6 August.

If Neeraj Chopra wins gold in the Paris Olympics, he can become the first Indian to win gold in two consecutive Olympics.

Neeraj’s story from being a Sarpanch to becoming a gold medalist is quite interesting for the children of the village. This includes his parents, uncle, grandfather and old friends. Dainik Bhaskar heard Neeraj’s entire story from them. Read the ground report from his house…

Grandmother used to feed him a lot of milk and curd, at the age of 14 his weight increased to 70 kg
Neeraj’s village is about 15 km away from Panipat. He has a joint family. In an interview to Rajya Sabha TV, Neeraj had told that there are 17 members in his family. There is a board in the village on which it is written – Residence of Shri Neeraj Chopra, World Olympic Gold Medalist.

Board installed in Neeraj Chopra’s village. Neeraj’s house is after going a little further in this street.

We reached Neeraj Chopra’s house through the boarded lane. Here we met his uncle Bhim Chopra. He tells the story of Neeraj becoming a thrower.

Uncle says, ‘We are four brothers. Neeraj is the eldest son among all the four brothers. That is why he was loved by everyone. 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 weighed more than 70 kg.’

Everyone called Neeraj Sarpanch because he used to wear kurta-pajama
Bhim Chopra further says, ‘Neeraj used to wear kurta-pyjama instead of pant-shirt. Due to this the children of the village called him Sarpanch. He had become fat by eating milk and ghee. When his weight started increasing more than his age, we got worried.’

‘The whole family sat together and discussed that his body will be ruined like this. Let’s get him trained somewhere so that his body gets in shape. He looks a little better. We told him to join a gym now. Then he started going to the gym.’

‘He went to Panipat and joined a gym. There is Shivaji Stadium in Panipat, Neeraj’s gym was next to it. He was young, so we used to drop him. Many times it happened that we were 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 were practising javelin throw in front of him. Jaiveer, one of them, told Neeraj to come and try it once. Neeraj threw the javelin correctly and far away in the first attempt too. Jaiveer advised him to do javelin throw. Neeraj also got interested in this game. He went to Panchkula and practised. Then he went to the national camp.’

Before the Olympics, there were reports that Neeraj had a muscle strain. He had also withdrawn from the Diamond League held in July.

Mother said- Neeraj would get irritated when the kids called him Sarpanch and would fight with them
Mother Saroj recalls Neeraj’s childhood days and says, ‘In his childhood, his weight was much more than children of his age. The children of the village used to call him Sarpanch.

If Neeraj wins then his mother will send churma to PM Modi
Saroj says, ‘Last time Neeraj won gold, I had made churma and sent it to Prime Minister Modi. This time too I am expecting a medal from my son. If Neeraj wins a medal, I will again make churma and send it to Prime Minister Modi. However, the churma sent after the Tokyo Olympics got spoiled.’

At the same time, Neeraj’s grandfather Dharam Singh is confident that Neeraj will win gold in Paris after Tokyo.

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. Neeraj used to watch us in the stadium after getting free from the gym. One day, we just put the javelin in his hands.’

‘Neeraj threw, his style of releasing the javelin was very good. Seeing this, Jaiveer even told us that this boy can do something. He explained to Neeraj that he should practice with us. Neeraj listened to him and started coming regularly.’

This is Sunny Sardar. He claims that he has Neeraj Chopra’s first javelin, which he always keeps safely.

Sunny Sardar shows a javelin and claims that this is the same javelin that Neeraj threw for the first time. Sunny says, ‘I have kept this javelin safely. It is no longer fit for practice. Many throwers asked me for this javelin for practice, but I did not give it to them.’

The fitness trainer said- Neeraj was very shy
Jitendra Jaglan used to train Neeraj in the gym. He says, ‘When Neeraj came to me, he was 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 bring him to the stadium for running. There he saw boys throwing javelin, then he asked me what sport it was. This is how he got inclined towards javelin.’

The gym where Neeraj trained is now a hotel
The gym near the stadium in Panipat where Neeraj went to lose weight is now a hotel. Gym trainer Jitendra Jaglan says that the gym was shut down a few years ago. Now I make the children do weight training in the ground itself.

After Neeraj’s victory, Javelin Throw Academy opened in Haryana
After Neeraj won the gold in Tokyo, many academies of javelin throw have opened in Haryana. Jatin, a national level athlete, also gives training in Neeraj’s village. He says, ‘Not only Khandra, but children from other villages also come to this centre for practice. More than 40 children practice athletics here.’

Jatin says, ‘After Neeraj won the medal in the Tokyo Olympics, you will find an athletics academy after every two villages here.’

Rajkumar Mithan, former secretary of Haryana Athletics Association and currently joint secretary of Indian Athletics Association, says, ‘Now many private academies of 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.’