From spear to eternity

At 26, Neeraj Chopra has won Olympic gold, set new records and shown us how far a javelin (and an Indian athlete) can go. So, where does he go from here?

- Shraddha Choudhury

Neeraj Chopra was just 24 when his 86.69m javelin throw won him the gold medal India's first for athletics - at the Olympics three years ago. Now 26, he's gone from chubby muchteased child, to avid gym rat, to javelin hobbyist, to surprise talent, to setting a world record at the World Under-20 Championships in 2016, to a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian Army, to the Olympics, to gold at the games, to a Khel Ratna and Arjuna award, and to global fame. That's already enough for a memoir. Yet, Chopra grins in photos the way only a 26-year-old can, eyes shining with all the life yet to be lived, giving us, at the very least, hair goals.

How does one aim higher after seemingly having achieved it all? For Haryana-born Chopra, the approach has been off-road from the beginning. "For me, at least, it's not just about winning. I make sure that I enjoy my daily routine, my training, my competitions... I enjoy it all," he says. "Of course, it gives me immense joy that I've won the biggest tournaments in javelin, but it's the will to return and perform even better that keeps me motivated. India is shining in the athletics space. It's vital for us athletes to compete more to show that winning once isn't everything."