Despite being India's only track and field Olympic champion and the reigning World Champion, Neeraj Chopra knows that his popularity will never reach to the levels of top cricketers like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni but that does not matter to him. What matters is the reigning Olympic champion's personal satisfaction with what he is doing and nothing else. (More Sports News)
Talking to Sportstar, Neeraj again stole hearts with his reply to a query about the popularity of cricketers. When asked if he thinks that cricket takes away attention from other sports, he said he has never compared himself with stars like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.
"At the Doha Diamond League, I was asked how popular I was in India. I never tried to compare myself with the likes of Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni because I’m very well aware of the reality of what I am in India, Neeraj said. "Yes, obviously, after the Olympics, people recognize me a lot more, but I know there is a stark difference in my popularity compared to that of a cricketer."
He said that while cricket can be played anywhere, one cannot throw javelin just like that.
"Cricket is played in every single alley in the country. It’s not like people practise javelin throw in the same way."
Neeraj is eyeing to defend his Olympic gold in Paris at the upcoming Summer Games. The Tokyo Olympic champion said that he knew about the popularity of cricket even while growing up but that did not deter him from taking up a sport that he liked.
"Even while growing up, I always knew that cricket was on another level, and the attention a cricketer received would always be more than that of an athlete playing any other sport," Neeraj said. "But that didn’t mean I had no option but to choose cricket. I always wanted to pursue javelin as it was the sport I liked. I had no idea that I would end up winning an Olympic gold medal. I picked up the sport because I loved it."
Neeraj also said that he did not need any shortcuts to popularise javelin throw in India.
"If someone draws a line in front of you and asks you to jump past it, you don’t ask them to erase that line and draw it closer to you so that it’s easier for you to jump past it, will you?
"In the same way, I don’t want any shortcuts to making my sport popular. I want my sport to become popular with my hard work and effort."
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