At the recent Olympic Games, history was made in the men’s javelin final, with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem taking gold and India’s Neeraj Chopra taking silver. While Nadeem’s victory was celebrated with a traditional buffalo gift from his father-in-law, Chopra revealed that he too has received similar gifts throughout his career.
Chopra, the reigning Olympic and world champion, recently told the media that he was once given Desi Ghee (clarified butter) as a gift for his success in sports.
He explained that in his home region of Haryana, sportspeople are often presented with such gifts, including ghee, ladoos (sweets), motorcycles and even tractors.
“Promises are made: ‘If Neeraj wins this competition, I will give him 50 kg of ghee.’ I have been hearing such things since childhood,” Chopra said, adding that these gifts are considered a means of increasing strength and are common in sports like kabaddi and wrestling.
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Nadeem’s record throw of 92.97m helped Chopra set a new personal best of 89.45m, a feat he achieved despite suffering a groin injury.
Chopra expressed confidence in his ability to outperform Nadeem’s throw, but admitted that his body could not keep up with his mental determination.
“It wasn’t that I couldn’t complete that distance, but I just couldn’t push myself as hard,” he said, attributing the deficit to his footwork on the runway. Despite the injury, Chopra remains optimistic about his recovery and future performance.
