‘Neeraj Chopra inspires other Indian athletes to give their best’

Mumbai: Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra is a “cool cat” who never takes pressure irrespective of the occasion and inspires

other Indian athletes to bring out their best, said Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla here on Tuesday.

Chopra, who is also the reigning world champion in men’s javelin throw, will once again be the cynosure of all eyes when the Paris Olympics begins later this month.

“One (side) is Neeraj and one (other side) is the rest of them. As far as Neeraj is concerned, he is a cool cat,” Sumariwalla said while talking about India’s superstar athlete during a panel discussion organised by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai.

“He is one of those who takes pressure away. He is not thinking of the past, not of the future.

He’s thinking of the moment, that’s one of his strongest points. If you ask him, ‘dar lagta hai?’ (are you afraid?), he will say ‘dar toh sabko lagta hai’ (everyone gets afraid). He says, ‘tension kuch nahi hai’ (there is nothing like tension).”

“I always chat with these people in warm up area before they go in to compete. He will say ‘tension kuch nahi hai, aap tension mat lo, mein kar doonga’ (There is no tension, you do not take any. I will do it).”

Sumariwalla said more than India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal shooter Abhinav Bindra, Chopra has been able to inspire the athletes.

“The rest of them have now started to believe that if a Neeraj Chopra can do it -- (the fact that) he stays with us, he eats the same food,

he is (of the) same flesh and blood, he sleeps in the same room as we do. If he can do it, we can do it also.

“If Abhinav (Bindra) could get a medal, so can we.”