Before Paris Olympics 2024, Did Neeraj Chopra Take A Dig At ‘Popular’ Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni?
Neeraj Chopra, India’s best javelin thrower and easily the country’s best athlete across sports, won a silver medal in the Paris Olympics 2024 on Thursday. He became the second male athlete from India since the country gained independence to win two Olympic medals in an individual event.
Before he was set for Paris earlier this month, Neeraj was asked about his opinions regarding the outrageous popularity he gained since winning a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He was, in fact, directly compared to Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni—two of the stalwarts of Indian cricket—when one of the reporters asked him the question.
Neeraj said, “At the Doha Diamond League, I was asked how popular I was in India. I never tried to compare myself with the likes of Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni because I’m very well aware of the reality of what I am in India.”
“Yes, obviously, after the Olympics, people recognise me a lot more, but I know there is a stark difference in my popularity compared to that of a cricketer. Cricket is played in every single alley in the country. It's not like people practice javelin throw in the same way,” the javelin ace added.