Haren
After Arshad Nadeem became Pakistan’s first individual Olympic gold medallist ever at Paris 2024, the country has rolled out the red carpet for the javelin thrower in scenes reminiscent of the welcome Neeraj Chopra received after winning gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Arshad Nadeem has already been accorded several high-level ceremonies in Pakistan, but what has caught the attention of fans has been how his father-in-law gifted him a buffalo for his Olympic record-breaking feat at the Paris Olympics.
Expectedly, Neeraj Chopra was asked about this unique gift when he held a briefing for Indian journalists after his silver medal at Paris 2024.
Neeraj Chopra bagged a silver at the Olympic 2024 Javelin throw event. (Source: Instagram/OlympicKhel)
“I was gifted desi ghee once. Back home in Haryana also we get things like these as gifts: 10 kilo desi ghee or 50 kilos of desi ghee. Or ladoos. There are promises made: ‘If Neeraj wins this competition, I’ll give him 50 kgs of ghee.’ I would hear these things being said since I was kid, this was when circle kabaddi and wrestling were really popular. Ghee is gifted because we believe that it helps increase strength, which we need in our sport. Buffalos are also gifted in our region. Wrestlers and kabaddi players are also gifted things like Bullet motorbikes or tractors,” Neeraj Chopra told journalists with a smile at a press briefing organised by JSW Sports.
In the interaction, Neeraj Chopra revealed that he is not planning on returning back home to India at least for another month — opting to stay in Switzerland and compete in Diamond League meets. He also said he could undergo surgery for a niggle in his groin that has been bothering him for many months now.
On Friday, he posted a video on social media of himself training in the Swiss town of Magglingen, where the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport is located, where he can be seen training with a medicine ball.
“My mother sometimes sees these videos and tells me to train lightly. She can’t see me put myself under so much pain. But I tell her, if I ease up on hard work, others will over take me in competition,” he chuckled.
