New Delhi: Olympic and World champion has responded to the stark difference in terms of popularity of cricketers in India with athletes of other sports. There is no hidden fact that India is known to be a cricket-crazy nation with the players worshipped for their statures.
The recent T20 World Cup triumph in the West Indies sent the country of 1.3 billions into the state of jubilance and ecstasy. The celebration of the bus-parade at Mumbai’s Marine drive was a complete madness with around 3,00,000 fans thronged the Indian team’s bus at the Queen’s Necklace. The Television and online viewership is an arena for sponsors to derive sacks of moolah.
In the contrary viewpoint, other athletes who have excelled in their respective sport’s pinnacle events don’t enjoy the same amount of media coverage, hype, rewards, government recognition, fandoms and then finally payments.
Neeraj Chopra’s success at Tokyo Olympics did created a wave for the Indian sports ecosystem but that still remains far away from the game of bat and ball in this country. While acknowledging the fame allured by cricketers among sporting fans, the 26-year-old javelin thrower emphasised that athletes are themselves responsible to popularise their respective sports in the country.
“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 recognize 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 practise javelin throw in the same way,” Neeraj told in an interview to Sportstar.
“But it is encouraging that people have started to watch and know more about other sports in the country. But the way forward should be to make your sport popular. If someone draws a line in front of you and asks you to jump past it, you don’t ask them to erase that line and draw it closer to you so that it’s easier for you to jump past it, will you?” he added.
Neeraj Chopra explains how javelin throw can be popularised in India
Neeraj Chopra has won every big competition which connects javelin across the globe. His shelf includes gold medals at Commonwealth Games, Asian Games (2 golds), Olympics, World Championship (1 gold and 1 silver) and the Diamond League title. He is the most accomplished athlete in the annals of India’s Olympic sports’ history. His charisma has paved the way for next generation of javelin throw competition with Odisha’s Kishore Jena and Karnataka’s DP Manu joining him at the World Championships last year in Budapest.
“If there are more javelin-based competitions in India, like the Diamond League, people will become more interested in watching and following the sport. With talented javelin athletes in India, there should be national-level leagues to compete. This would help to boost the sport in India,” Neeraj explained on how the track and field sport can be enhanced in the country.
“In India, people have a good understanding of cricket and its rules. Similarly, if there are more athletics competitions in the country, the general public will gain more knowledge about athletic sports, leading to more popularity of these sports,” he added.
Neeraj will compete at the Paris Olympics to defend his gold medal. His event is scheduled on August 6 (men’s javelin throw qualifiers) with the final of the same event on August 8 (in case he makes through the qualifying round).
Olympic and World champion has responded to the stark difference in terms of popularity of cricketers in India with athletes of other sports. While acknowledging the fame allured by cricketers among sporting fans, the 26-year-old javelin thrower emphasised that athletes are themselves responsible to popularise their respective sports in the country. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
