World Para Athletics: Neeraj lights up venue, wants more fans to cheer

As Sumit Antil was dominating the track for his golden campaign in F64 javelin in the ongoing World Para Athletics in New Delhi on Tuesday, he had a special cheerleader at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium — Neeraj Chopra, the double Olympic medallist and former world champion making his first public appearance since missing out on a medal at the last World Championship in Tokyo.

Hosts India, a rising power in para athletics as well as the Paralympics movement, are now in fourth position in the medals tally with four gold and silver medals each and one bronze, sitting behind Brazil, Poland and China. Neeraj, who spawned a javelin revolution in the country with his historic gold medal in Tokyo 2020, however urged for more crowd support for the brave hearts.

“As it is, life is very difficult for these para athletes and then they are competing here. It’s a remarkable thing. More and more people should turn up and watch these extraordinary athletes in action,” Neeraj said in an informal chat with the media. The organisation of the event, which has 1,400 athletes from around the globe and ends on 5 October, has drawn high praise from top officials of World Para Athletics (WPA) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Andrew Parsons, who was recently elected president of IPC for the third term, said at a media conference on Wednesday: ‘’There is growth. There is definitely good support from the government. We are trying to understand the para ecosystem in India. It is work in progress.’’

While the F64 javelin event was in progress on Tuesday, the news of Neeraj being in the stands spread like wildfire. A mad scramble ensued among media personnel for a few bytes and Neeraj eventually obliged.

Sachin Yadav, the new javelin thrower who upstaged his icon Neeraj in Tokyo with a fourth-place finish, was also in the stands to watch Sumit in action. Asked if he had any advice for Sachin, Neeraj said: “I have no advice for him. He is already doing very well. I think he knows what it takes.”