Neeraj Chopra has won everything under the sun — Olympic Games gold and silver medals, World Championship gold, Diamond League crown, Asian Games gold, and the yellow metal in the Commonwealth Games too.
Now, it’s time for the javelin superstar to give something back to the country, its athletes and his fans. He is bringing a world-class competition to India, where top javelin throwers will be seen in action. The Neeraj Chopra Classic, or the NC Classic, will be the first of its kind in the country. It will be held at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on May 24, shifted from Panchkula due to logistical reasons, and has been granted category A status by World Athletics.It will be hosted in collaboration with JSW.
Invitation to Nadeem
Paris Olympic Games gold medal winner Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan has also been invited, but, according to Neeraj, he is yet to confirm participation.
“I have sent an invitation to Arshad and he said he will get back to me after discussing with his coach. As of now, he has yet to confirm participation. Once everything is confirmed, we will know the final list. And of course I will also be participating,” Neeraj told reporters during a virtual media interaction on Monday.
The 27-year-old world champion spoke from Potchefstroom, South Africa, where he is training with his new coach, Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic.
Double world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who also won the bronze medal in Paris, Rio Olympics champion Thomas Roehler of Germany, Rio Games silver medallist Julius Yego of Kenya and current world leader Curtis Thompson of the US have confirmed their participation. Three or four Indian javelin throwers will also be seen in action.
“I spoke to Rohit (Yadav) yesterday (Sunday). It will be a very good opportunity for Indians to get ranking points for the World Championships in Tokyo (in September).”
Dream fulfilled
Having an event bearing his name, like the one pole vaulter Armand Duplantis has in Sweden, is another dream Neeraj wanted to fulfil. “It’s always been a dream to see India host a world-class athletic event. To have such an event, that too named after me, feels surreal,” he said.
“This is going to be an annual event and we will include more disciplines. People will get to see top throwers competing. It would be a boost for local talent, who will get to perform against the best. Our next effort should be to bring a Diamond League event to India. We have the stadiums and World Athletics is aware of the growing popularity of these events in India. They also want more crowds to follow athletics.”
Change in venue
Neeraj said he wanted the event to be held in Panchkula in Haryana, the place where he learnt the rudiments of javelin, but it was not meeting certain requirements for international television channels. “I didn’t know there were lighting requirements for international TV channels. One of the requirements (to host a gold event) is having floodlights with a rating of 60000 lux. Panchkula didn’t have it. So, for this year we have decided to shift the event to Bengaluru.
“We have the JSW team there to take care of every aspect in organising the event successfully. I feel the evening weather in Bengaluru would be perfect for the athletes and the fans,” Neeraj said.