Neeraj Chopra India's Paris Olympics 2024

Neeraj Cuts Cake To Celebrate His 26th Birthday

India’s Olympic gold medalist and World Champion javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra, celebrated his 26th birthday by cutting cake on Sunday.

India’s ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj turned 26 on Sunday.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a picture of Neeraj celebrating his birthday with a cake. The governing body of athletics in India also extended their wishes to Neeraj.

“Happy birthday champion @Neeraj_chopra1 #Paris2024 #Olympics #javelin@Adille1,” tweeted AFI.

Over the last five years or so, this young boy from Haryana, blessed with a strong arm and hunger to succeed, has touched the biggest peaks in athletics. About to enter his late 20s, he is already possibly the greatest Indian athlete ever.

Following a World Junior Championship gold and Asian Championship silver in 2016, Neeraj graduated to the senior level and celebrated it in style with a gold medal in the Asian Championships in 2017.

The athlete had a great 2018 as well, making an impact at the continental and Commonwealth levels. He won gold in the javelin throw at the Asian Games in Jakarta. With a throw of 88.06 m, he made a mark at continental level, giving signs of a fine future. He also secured a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 2018 with a throw of 86.47 m.

But the year 2021 was when everything changed for Neeraj and suddenly, he had become India’s ‘golden boy’. He captured an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo with the best throw of 87.58 m. With this, he became the first-ever Indian to win an athletics gold. This victory made him a sensation in the country. Love and support from fans, cricketers, politicians, and Bollywood celebrities made his victory even grander. Suddenly, Neeraj was the talking point all over India, being featured on social media campaigns, advertisements, shows etc. People wondered what he would do next.

In the next few months, Neeraj showed that though he had attained the top prize in athletics, there was still plenty for him to prove and win.

2022 was an amazing year for Neeraj, though he missed out on the Commonwealth Games 2022 due to an injury.

In June, he set a new national record and finished with a silver medal with a throw of 89.30 metres at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland, bettering his own previous national record of 88.07 metres, which he had set in Patiala in March last year.

In June again, he gave another sterling performance as he clinched gold in the 2022 Kuortane Games in Finland. Neeraj threw 86.69 m to clinch the top prize in tricky and wet conditions.

He also held the male javelin national record thanks to a throw in the Stockholm Diamond League that measured 89.94 metres, with which he broke his own record. He clinched a silver medal at the prestigious Diamond League meet in Stockholm and broke his own previous record.

At the World Athletics Championships in July, Neeraj Chopra made history by becoming only the second Indian and the first male track and field athlete to take home a medal. He finished second and won the silver medal, realising his aim of winning a world medal with a throw of 88.13 metres. Anju Bobby George won a bronze medal for India in the long jump competition before Neeraj.

In September, Chopra made history by becoming the first-ever Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League trophy, a top-tier athletics competition, achieving the best throw of 88.44 m to clinch one of the biggest wins of his career.

More accomplishments awaited Neeraj next year.

Neeraj clinched India’s first-ever gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest back in August. Neeraj recorded his best throw of 88.17 m in his second attempt and managed to keep his lead intact till the very end to win gold at Budapest.

Neeraj lived up to expectations to win gold at the Asian Games, and his compatriot Kishore Kumar Jena took home a silver medal as Indian athletes put up a power-packed performance at the Hangzhou Olympic Stadium on October 4. Neeraj defended his title and scripted history at the continental event. The event was watched eagerly on TV screens across the country as the two Indians stole the limelight.

There was a neck-to-neck competition between two Indian athletes, and Neeraj prevailed with his season’s best throw of 88.88 metres.

With a gold medal in the Asian Games, Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and World Athletics Championships and a Diamond League title, Chopra has won every top prize in the sport. He has set an unprecedented example with his consistency and hunger for gold. (ANI)

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Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Starts Men’s Javelin Throw Campaign Today

India’s star javelin thrower, Olympic gold medalist and World Champion Neeraj Chopra will be starting his Asian Games campaign in the final of men’s javelin throw on Wednesday.

Neeraj will compete in the title clash in the javelin throw at 4:35 PM IST.

The athlete had won a gold medal in javelin back in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. With a throw of 88.06 m, he made a mark at continental level, giving signs of a fine future. Previously, he had also secured a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 2018, with a throw of 86.47 m.

Now five years later, the then 20-year-old upstart has transformed into a living legend at 25 years of age. When it comes to accomplishments and trophies, Neeraj has very little to prove now as he has won it all.

In 2021, he captured an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, with the best throw of 87.58 m. With this, he became the first-ever Indian to win an athletics gold. This victory made him a sensation in the country. Love and support from fans, cricketers, politicians, and Bollywood celebrities made his victory even grander. Suddenly, Neeraj was the talking point all over India, being featured on social media campaigns, advertisements, shows etc. People wondered what he would do next.

In the next few coming months, Neeraj showed that though he had attained the top prize in athletics, there was still plenty for him to prove and win.

2022 was an amazing year for Neeraj, though he missed out on Commonwealth Games 2022 due to an injury.

In June, he made a new national record and finished with a silver medal with a throw of 89.30 metres at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland, bettering his own previous national record of 88.07 meters which he had set in Patiala in March last year.

In June again, he gave another sterling performance as he clinched gold in the 2022 Kuortane Games in Finland. Neeraj threw 86.69 m to clinch the top prize in tricky and wet conditions.

He also held the male javelin national record thanks to a throw in the Stockholm Diamond League that measured 89.94 metres, with which he broke his own record. He clinched a silver medal at the prestigious Diamond League meet in Stockholm and broke his own previous record.

At the World Athletics Championships in July, Neeraj Chopra made history by becoming only the second Indian and the first male track and field athlete to take home a medal. He finished second and won the silver medal, realising his aim of winning a World medal with a throw of 88.13 metres. Anju Bobby George won a bronze medal for India in the long jump competition before Neeraj.

In September, Chopra made history by becoming the first-ever Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League trophy, a top-tier athletics competition, achieving the best throw of 88.44 m to clinch one of the biggest wins of his career.

With a gold medal in Asian Games, Olympics, CWG and World Athletics Championships and a Diamond League title, Chopra has won every top prize in the sport. He has set an unprecedented example with his consistency and hunger for gold.

Ahead of start of his campaign, Neeraj spoke about his consistency, “It is not about being consistent in throw, but also in training. Keep training well and work on your technique. This leads to improvement. Last year, I made two national records, it was nice. I made improvements. This year I felt good, but injuries proved to be a temporary obstacle. Feels good to be consistent.”

The only thing that is perhaps left to prove for Neeraj is whether he can touch the 90 m mark. Neeraj himself is looking forward to it, but is not in a hurry. His main focus still remains consistency.

“I am very close to it. I want to hit that throw myself. I believe in the process. Whenever it will happen, it will happen. I am not in a hurry. I am happy with my consistent performances, this is my main focus,” said Neeraj.

This time, his arch-rival Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan is ruled out due to injury. It means, the absence of India-Pakistan rivalry flavour from the continental meet.

The absence of Nadeem however means Neeraj Chopra is the favourite for Gold. (ANI)

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Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar Shares Spl Message For Golden Boy Neeraj Chopra

India’s iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar commended India’s first-ever gold medal winner at the World Athletics Championships.   

Neeraj Chopra recorded his best throw of 88.17 m in his second attempt and managed to keep his lead intact till the very end to win Gold at Budapest.

Arshad Nadeem, the Commonwealth Games champion with 87.82 m got a silver medal. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch secured the bronze with the best throw of 86.67 m. 

“India’s first-ever gold at the #WorldAthleticsChampionships. It’s a historic milestone for Indian sports. May your hard work keep shining in every tournament you represent India,” Sachin on Monday took to X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Tendulkar’s former teammate Virender Sehwag congratulated the Golden Boy in his unique style. 

“Fenkon toh aise fenko ki chaar log bole Kya fekta hai yaar. 88.17 mtr door Bhaala phenka and a World Athletics Championship Gold for our Champion #NeerajChopra . The mega run continues,” Sehwag wrote in his tweet. 

Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir summed up Neeraj’s success in a few words, “Gold for our diamond!”

Former spinner Harbhajan Singh extended wishes and wrote, “Neeraj Chopra making us all proud .. first indian to win multiple world athletics championships medals.. Keep rocking”

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan shared a special message for the 25-year-old and wrote, “We all love Gold but Neeraj Chopra Adores it… entire nation is proud of you brother.”

India’s experienced spinner Yuzvendra Chahal wrote, “Making India proud! Congratulations on winning the gold at the World Athletics Championships.”

Neeraj will return to lead India’s medal hopes in the Hangzhou Asian Games, which is to be held from September 23 to October 8.

The Asian Games will mark Neeraj’s final major competition of this year. (ANI)

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Neeraj Chopra

World Athletics C’ships: Neeraj Qualifies For Final

India’s ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra on Friday produced another sterling performance to seal his spot in the men’s javelin throw final at the prestigious World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

The World Athletics Championships 2023 is being held in the Hungarian capital of Budapest from  August 19 to 27. 

Placed in the Group A Qualifier, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj recorded a massive throw of 88.77m in his first attempt, breaching the qualifying mark of 83.00m.

Neeraj, who went into the championships as world’s top-ranked javelin thrower, didn’t take his second and third attempts. With this massive throw, Neeraj has also qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The qualifying cut of the Budapest 2023, the 19th edition of the world athletics championships, men’s javelin throw competition final is set at 83.00 m.

Last year, the 25-year-old Tokyo Olympic medalist had won the silver medal at the World Championships in Eugene. 

Neeraj has already won gold at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. He is also the Diamond League winner.

At least 12 players will be going into the final which will take place on Sunday.

Neeraj’s compatriots DP Manu and Kishore Jena will be participating in Group B. Twenty-seven Indian athletes are competing in 15 events at Budapest 23. (ANI)

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Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Secures Victory With 88.67 M Throw At Diamond League 2023

Olympic gold medal winner Neeraj Chopra didn’t waste time to leave his mark after his recovery from injury as he claimed the Doha Diamond League 2023.

Neeraj missed the action due to an injury but, from his very first attempt it seemed as if he picked up his form right where he left off.
Chopra’s first throw was 88.67 which was a great way to start the new season. His first throw was enough to seal the victory for him but he still tried to push ahead.

After his throw, it was clearly evident that Chopra was not satisfied despite making a decent start. He was leading the chart after the first attempt.

Chopra’s second throw resulted in an 86.04m distance, maintaining his lead in the charts over Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch, who was able to reach 88.63m, and world champion Anderson Peters, whose best attempt is 85.88m.

Chora had the lead by only four centimetres. In his third attempt, Neeraj threw the spear at a distance of 85.47m. He still held on to the lead despite the decrease in distance from his first attempt.

The Czech Republic thrower moved up to second place, overtaking Anderson Peters. Neeraj made a foul on his fourth attempt.

In his second last attempt, he touched a distance of 84.37m. On the other hand, Vadlejch still could not surpass Chopra’s distance (88.47m) in his fifth attempt. Anderson Peters fell behind in his fifth attempt as he registered a distance of 82.22m.

In the end, Neeraj claimed victory with the distance he covered in his first attempt. However, the Olympic gold medalist fell short of breaching the 90-meter mark.

On the other hand, India’s Eldhose Paul, a Commonwealth Games triple jump champion, finished 10th in the 11-men field with a best jump of 15.84m on his first attempt.

Making his Diamond League debut, the 26-year-old Eldhose Paul hit 13.65m and 14.70m on his next two attempts and failed to progress further to the medal round. Eldhose Paul’s personal best is 16.99m which he achieved at India’s Federation Cup last year. (ANI)

Neeraj Chopra India's Paris Olympics 2024

Neeraj Comes In Support Of Wrestlers’ Protest

Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra on Friday came in support of the ongoing wrestlers’ protest, and said that he was ‘hurt’ to see athletes on the streets demanding justice.

“It hurts me to see our athletes on the streets demanding justice. They have worked hard to represent our great nation and make us proud,” Tokyo Olympics gold medallist said in a tweet on Friday.
He said,” As a nation, we are responsible for safeguarding the integrity and dignity of every individual, athlete or not.”

“What’s happening should never happen. This is a sensitive issue, and must be dealt with in an impartial and transparent manner. Pertaining authorities must take quick action order to ensure that justice is served,” Chopra added.

Indian wrestlers have been protesting at Jantar Mantar here in the national capital against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment.

Top Indian grapplers such as Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and many other wrestlers are involved in the protest against the WFI chief.

Having waited for three months, star wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia again started their protest against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Sunday and said that they took the step after alleging that no action has been taken in the matter and said that the FIR has not been registered against the WFI chief.

Ace India wrestler Sakshi Malik broke down while interacting with the media as wrestlers protest at Jantar Mantar.

“We wanted to file a sexual harassment FIR against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. We got a complaint filed two days ago but FIR has not been registered yet. There are seven female wrestlers and one of them is a minor. We want the investigation to happen fast. It is a sensitive matter. We are being framed as liars which we cannot bear. We are waiting for two and a half months now but no one is listening. People are saying we are spent force that is why we are protesting. We just won a medal at CWG 2022,” Sakshi Malik told the media at Jantar Mantar.

“It is being heard that we are finished, that is why we are protesting. For two and a half months the government has not taken any action. We cannot reveal the name of a minor. Otherwise, her name and career will get spoilt,” she added.

Earlier in January this year, top Indian wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Ravi Dahiya and Sakshi Malik, held a sit-in protest in Jantar Mantar, demanding that Brij Bhushan be removed from the head office and Wrestling Federation of India be disbanded.

They had accused the body and its chief of sexual harassment and mistreatment of wrestlers.

Following the protest, in January, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the formation of an ‘oversight committee’ to probe allegations levelled against the Wrestling Federation of India and its chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and other coaches.

The committee was given the task of submitting a report on the issue to the Ministry.

Earlier, India’s first individual Olympic gold medal-winning shooter and member of the Olympics Athletes Commission, Abhinav Bindra expressed support for Indian wrestlers who are protesting at Jantar Mantar in the national capital against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment.

Abhinav Bindra supported the wrestlers in their protest with a poignant tweet on Wednesday.

“As athletes, we train hard every day to represent our country on the international stage. It is deeply concerning to see our athletes finding it necessary to protest on the streets regarding the allegations of harassment in the Indian wrestling administration,” Bindra tweeted.

“My heart goes out to all those who have been affected. We must ensure that this issue is handled properly, with the athletes’ concerns heard and addressed fairly and independently. This incident highlights the crucial need for a proper safeguarding mechanism that can prevent harassment and ensure justice for those affected. We must work towards creating a safe and secure environment for all athletes to thrive in,” he added. (ANI)

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Neeraj Garbha

Neeraj Takes Part In Garba Night: Vadodara

India’s star javelin throw athlete Neeraj Chopra shook a leg with his fans while participating in a Garba night at one of the venues of the 36th National Games in Vadodara in Gujarat.

On Wednesday, Chopra surprised his fans by appearing at the event, upping their enthusiasm and joy.
India’s Golden Boy @Neeraj_chopra1 attends special Garba night in #Vadodara among thousands of people The enthusiasm and celebrations at the garba ground multiplied when he surprised his fans at the spot #36thNationalGames #NationalGames2022,” tweeted SAI Media.

Chopra made history earlier this month, becoming the first-ever Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League trophy, a top-tier athletics competition, achieving the best throw of 88.44 m to clinch one of the biggest wins of his career.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 36th National Games at a grand Opening Ceremony to be held here at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

The Prime Minister will also address athletes from across the country taking part in the National Games. The Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Thakur and other dignitaries will also attend the opening ceremony.

National Games are being held in the state of Gujarat for the very first time. It will be organised from 29th September to 12th October 2022. Nearly 15,000 sportspersons, coaches, and officials from across the country will be participating in 36 sports disciplines, making it the biggest National Games ever.

The sporting events will be organised in six cities of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.

Olympic Games Weightlifting silver medallist Mirabai Chanu will be the biggest draw at the Mahatma Mandir Complex in Gandhinagar when the 36th National Games gather steam on Friday, with competitions in nine more sports beginning a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the Games open at a spectacular ceremony.

The women’s 10m Air Rifle contest featuring home favourite, Olympian Elavenil Valarivan and West Bengal’s Mehuli Ghosh will also capture attention at the Ahmedabad Military and Rifle Training Centre here. On a day when three Shooting gold medals will be decided, 2012 Olympic Games silver medallist Vijay Kumar’s comeback will also be watched with much interest.

Besides Weightlifting, Friday will offer athletes in Archery, Athletics, Fencing, Gymnastics, Kho-Kho, Roller Sports, Rowing and Wrestling the opportunity to showcase their skills on the grandest stage in Indian sport. There will also be gold medal matches in Rugby 7s in Ahmedabad and Netball in Bhavnagar.

The Table Tennis events were held in Surat last week to facilitate the country’s best to compete before heading to China for the World Championships. The early phase of competition in Kabaddi, Rugby 7s and Tennis in Ahmedabad as well as Netball in Bhavnagar started a couple of days ago. Lawn Bowls in Dholera and the 25m Rapid Fire pistol event here have seen some action already.

In IIT Gandhinagar, the entries of Commonwealth Games medallists Sandeep Kumar and Priyanka Goswami headline the 20km walk events for men and women respectively. And in the wake of the success of Triple Jumpers Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker in the Commonwealth Games, considerable attention will also be focused on the jumping pit.

Not far from IIT, the Mahatma Mandir complex will spring alive with medals on offer in Weightlifting, Fencing and Wrestling while the picturesque Sabarmati Riverfront will have the best of India’s Rowing and Roller Sports athletes on view. And in the sylvan settings of the Sanskardham School, Archery and Kho-kho competitions will get underway.

The National Games caravan, which has already touched the cities of Surat and Bhavnagar besides Ahmedabad, will roll into Vadodara with the Gymnastics competition starting on Friday. The men’s and women’s team medals in Artistic Gymnastics will be the first to be decided in the five-day competition.

Pranati Nayak (West Bengal) and Protistha Samanta (Tripura) as well Satyajit Mondal (West Bengal) and Saif Tamboli (Services), who competed in the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham are among the gymnasts who will hold the fans at the Sama Indoor Sports Complex in thrall with their talent that combines power and grace. (ANI)

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Going Gaga Over Sole Gold

I wanted an escape from my life; from the electricity shortages, to the mosquitoes buzzing in our ear when we slept, from barely having two square meals, to seeing our home getting flooded when it rained… My parents tried their best, but there was only so much they could do — Papa was a cart-puller and Ma worked as a maid
Rani Rampal, Captain, Indian Women’s Hockey Team

Let us not even look at the medal tally of the other countries, including the stupendous achievements of our ‘oriental neighbour’, China, now flexing its muscles so brazenly for a long time in Ladakh. For just about the time needed for ‘instant gratification’ amidst the isolating phobia of a deathly pandemic, with thousands of people still mourning the loss of their loved ones, India exploded at the gold medal won by Neeraj Chopra, the son of a farmer in Haryana and a ‘Subedar’ in the Indian army. The media went gaga. It was once again like that old Rafi song: ‘Japan, Love in Tokyo’!

Achche din’ were finally here. The ‘javelin gold’ seemed sweeter. It was cool, and cacophonic, this collective catharsis! After all, it was the first athletics gold ‘the Vishwaguru’ has won in the entire history of Olympics!

Indeed, it was an ecstatic moment for an eternally ‘frustrated nation’ starved of great ecstasies, great victories, great success and great landmarks at the international level, while stuck with the pathetic long-playing record of the fake glory of a mythical past, and the equally fake illusion that ‘India is a super power’. It’s a rat-trap, this patriotic chest-thumping, with no solid substance or evidence to show. And it arrives with a sorry taste in the mouth, this anti-catharsis of an unrequited dream sequence of a nation-state in bad faith.  

When Abhinav Bindra got the gold in shooting, perhaps completely driven by his own drive and dedication, and with basically little or no backing from the Indian government or sports establishment, it was almost an action-replay of the same scenario. An entire nation rejoiced; it was back to lala… land.

And that is how this fantasy unfolds like a once-upon-a-time fairy tale with that once-in-a-blue-moon happy ending. While it’s the same old sad story yet again, repeated a million times, across the tough and tragic terrain of invisible India, where thousands of talented, dedicated, idealistic and brilliant young girls and boys, are decisively left to their fate.

This is part of a predictable pattern. This rags-to-riches story, with a rare finale! Compulsively looking for a happy ending, it seems India has become a sucker for this fantasy, as and when it arrives. We shall wait for a shining star to emerge from the dingy margins — who will suddenly turn India luminescent. Then we shall burst many more patriotic crackers! After that it be will be back to square one.

For one, let us talk of Vandana Katariya, the first Indian woman hockey player to score a hat trick in the Olympics. Her Dalit family faced a barrage of the choicest casteist abuses in her village Roshnabad in Haridwar by upper caste goons condemning her for India losing to Argentina in the semi finals in a hard-fought game. No Dalit should be allowed inside any sports team of India, they shouted, dancing and bursting crackers. By any social indication, undoubtedly, these two evil and vile men are not alone in holding such views.

ALSO READ: Indian Sports And Chinese Game

Let us also talk of Rani Rampal, the captain of the Indian women’s hockey team. Rani came from a terribly poor family. As a kid, she played with a broken hockey stick because she loved the game. The coaching academy in Shahabad, Haryana, had no space for her raw talent or her mad dreams.

Finally, when she was accepted due to her sheer tenacity and persistence, like the other children, she too was asked to fetch 500ml of milk every day. “My family could only afford milk worth 200 ml. Without telling anyone, I would mix the milk with water and drink it because I wanted to play,” she has said. She had no sports gear to show: shoes, dress, diet, hockey stick. Rani remembers her childhood with its meticulous details. Anyway, who can ever forget a childhood lived in such difficult conditions!

She joined the Indian team at the age of 14 in 2008, an extraordinary feat and culmination of sheer hard work, amazing motivation, and extraordinary talent. In 2017, Rani bought her family a ‘home’ – it was a promise she had kept. “I finally fulfilled the promise I made to my family and bought them a home. We cried together and held each other tightly,” she said.

Briefly, this brilliant hockey player has scored 117 goals for India, earned as many as 241 international caps, and was part of the team which went to Rio – the first time the Indian women’s hockey team qualified for the Olympics in 36 years. Indeed, the caption scored the goal that clinched India’s berth for the Olympics in Tokyo — in the final qualification match against the United States in Bhubaneswar.

This incredible story of success against all odds went viral as her team outclassed other teams in Tokyo; this will continue to float until the next rags-to-success fairy tale arrives from the remote, unknown interiors of Manipur, Assam, Jharkhand, Western UP or Haryana.

In the same vein, shall we also talk of Dutee Chand, Deepa Karmakar, Hima Das, among others, from across the most deprived, difficult and hard life stories ever lived in a starkly unequal India, where they chased their sporting dreams against all odds in the most primitive, impossible and pathetic conditions?

A country of winners is clear-headed. It chooses to nourish, sustain and celebrate talent across the social and economic spectrum since day one. This is a synthesis of skills and praxis at Ground Zero. The State and society becomes the mentor where talented children and teenagers are given the space to learn, grow and spread their wings. This is called a great sporting culture and this is not based on the theory of bursting crackers and dancing one day with laddoos, going gaga all over in a patriotic outburst, and then getting back to the usual rut, waiting for the next solo by another javelin gold medalist.

This is what China did much before it hosted the Olympics in 2008 – this reporter witnessed a great sports revolution emerging across its villages, schools and campuses, with every Chinese child wanting to become an Olympic gold medalist. That is how they beat the Americans in 2008 in terms of gold medals, and almost did that again in Tokyo.

This is the disciplined and dedicated sporting culture built by a world champion like Pullela Gopichand in India, along with his family, who would get up in the dark to coach raw and unknown youngsters. It is Gopichand’s Badminton Academy in Hyderabad which has trained Indian women players to achieve the impossible – break the stronghold of Chinese women badminton champions. Let us not forget that PV Sindhu, who won a bronze in Rio and Tokyo, was originally trained in his academy, among scores of great talent.

Indeed, for a nation which is solely obsessed with a cash-rich IPL and billionaire cricketers, and the clichéd catharsis of fours and sixes and ‘death-overs’, the great Olympics will always remain an unlearnt lesson. India must learn to respect even those who don’t have a medal to show – will they too be left to their unhappy destinies like scores of others? It’s time to realise that often the line between victory and defeat is extremely thin.

The fact is, as long as it does not cherish and nourish the likes of Rani Rampal, Deepa Karmakar, Dutee Chand, Vandana Katariya and Hima Das, among thousands of others at the margins chasing an impossible rainbow, this nation of six billion will continue to be ‘a nation of losers’ – going gaga over a lone gold.