Neeraj Chopra Classic: Double Olympic medallist hopes to spark javelin revolution in India

Bengaluru: Sachin Yadav looked understandably awed sitting next to three Olympic medal winning javelin throwers in Neeraj Chopra, Thomas Rohler and Julius Yego but his mere presence on that glittering dais holds a deeper significance to it.

It was a febrile representation of Chopra’s dream of turning javelin into a household sport across the nation.

In that context, the Neeraj Chopra Classic here on Saturday could be India’s equivalent to Mondo Classic, a gala pole vault event hosted by world record holder and Olympic champion Armando Dulpantis in his hometown Uppsala, Sweden.

Duplantis is also driven by his unquenchable drive to break his own world records, and he has done it 15 times so far, but Chopra has wider ambitions.

Chopra underlined that thought of inspiring the next line of Indian javelin throwers.

“First of all, I want to thank you, Julius, Thomas and everyone else from the heart of India. All are good friends of mine and thank you so much for coming.

Finally, we are sitting here with such great throwers. I am very happy that such an event is happening in India,” Chopra momentarily appeared emotional.

The double Olympic medallist also ensured that the host country will get a fair representation.

Hence, apart from himself and Sachin, an Asian Championship silver winner, India will field Rohit Yadav, Sahil Silwal and Yashvir Singh.

But Chopra is not alone in his venture, as he has accomplished champions like Rohler and Yego at his side.

All these young India javelin throwers have an inner connection to Rohler, the 2016 Olympic gold medallist from Germany, as they pick up a lot of tips from his popular YouTube channel.

Rohler said it was his duty to share his experiences and knowledge to the aspiring athletes.

“I always love to share because only if I share, I will get into communication. I can leave a footprint. And to me, distances, medals, and all these things are just numbers on paper. I love to have a footprint in the sport.