When I meet Neeraj Chopra for an interview, he is with his best friend. He knows how much his friend weighs, how his friend likes to be carried around. He treats his friend with respect and care.
Athletes and their bond with their implements have often been part of sporting lore. Rahul Dravid knew how much he wanted his bats to weigh. Dhyan Chand’s hockey stick was thought of nothing less than a magical wand that always had the ball under its mesmerising control. Lionel Messi’s left foot is like a magnet for the football. Michael Phelps always knew about the way of the water. For Chopra, it is his javelin that won him a gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
He describes the javelin for me—I even get to hold it briefly—and he knows exactly how his friend moves.
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“Throw it the right way and it flies through the air like a fish,” says Chopra, the first Indian to win an Olympic gold in track and field, as he holds the electric-green javelin in his hand. To me, it’s just a projectile made of aluminium, steel and carbon fibre. For Chopra, it’s much more.
At an outdoor location in New Delhi, the morning light is skimming off his skin. Chopra is in a raw avatar, like you have never seen him before. But the 27-year-old is still in his element—smiling, joking with the crew around him, grooving to Haryanvi songs playing in the background and telling us what the lyrics mean. Between the shots and different looks, as he goes from a rugged athlete to suave gentleman, we talk shop and what he aims to achieve in the new year.
The year’s started off on a positive note for the man from Panipat. The US-based Track & Field News magazine, revered by many as the Bible of sports news, recently named Chopra the best thrower in its 2024 men’s javelin world rankings, ahead of some serious competition—Anderson Peters of Grenada, Czechia star Jakub Vadlejch, Germany’s Julian Weber, current Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and Kenya’s Julius Yego.
While Chopra is also expected to compete in the Diamond League series, defending the world championship title in September is a big goal for him, returning to the track where he conjured up his greatest moment so far—Tokyo, 2020. “That track is memorable, yes. It will be a big boost [to return to Tokyo],” says Chopra.
His Olympic gold often dwarfs his other significant landmarks. In Tokyo, he became the first and only track and field athlete from India to win an Olympic medal. His Diamond League win in 2022 was also a first among Indians. Chopra still holds the World Junior U-20 record in javelin at 86.48m. The only other individual Olympic gold medal for India was bagged by shooter Abhinav Bindra.
Last year, when he returned to the Olympics stage—in Paris—to defend his gold, expectations were sky-high. Nothing less than another gold would suffice. But, riddled with injuries, Chopra struggled to find his rhythm and recorded just one legitimate throw out of six attempts in the final, bringing home a silver medal.
“Every performance leaves you with a lesson. Paris reminded me that I need to keep in mind my own targets and remain fit for 2025,” he says. “Everyone expects you to win a gold every time. But that is not possible. It’s not just me. Pick any athlete. Sometimes you win a gold, sometimes a silver or even bronze.”
“When he went to Shivaji stadium in Panipat (2010-11), it was not for javelin but to shed weight. He saw other athletes throwing the javelin and wanted to try it for himself. That’s how his journey began,” Norris Pritam tells me. The veteran sports journalist, who profiled Chopra and others that have been part of his sporting journey for the book The Man Who Made History, says there is no doubt that Chopra is now India’s most prominent track and field athlete.
“He was an accidental thrower. He could have been a wrestler or even a pace bowler, but certainly not a thrower,” says Pritam, who believes the thrower is more than capable of going beyond the 90-metre mark. “He’s not only won a gold but followed it up with a silver in a highly technical event. I don’t think anyone will emulate him in the coming years.”
Watching Neeraj Chopra in competition, you can see precision in every movement. Before he starts his run up, Chopra checks his grip on the javelin. A couple of puffs of the cheeks, a little bend of the waist in both directions. He yanks his right shoulder a couple of times—almost like loading a cannon that is ready to fire. He is all set.
His run-up is energetic—slowly picking pace—high kneed, with a beautiful build-up of momentum. A 10-15 step sprint is followed by three to four crossover steps. As he continues to run, his body turns to the side, extending his right arm backwards to carry the javelin, remaining like that until he reaches his final throwing position.
A final, longer crossover step sees him transfer his weight on to his back leg. When his front foot finally lands, his torso moves to the front, as his right arm slingshots the javelin.
At this point—if witnessed side-on—his right arm, torso and left arm are shaped like an ‘S’. His body defies logic, bending and contorting at seemingly impossible angles.
Once he launches the javelin, it leaves a trail of dust behind from the gym chalk that athletes use to improve their grip. His typical falling style ends with him landing on his palms, decelerating remarkably.
Often, when he knows a throw is good, he turns back to the crowd with a look of self-assuredness. Up go the two hands, his index fingers pointing to the sky. Before the javelin will pierce the ground many, many metres away, Chopra knows that the job is done.
While his personal best is 89.94m (achieved during the 2022 Diamond League), watchers will be keen to see if he can breach the 90-metre mark this year. How Chopra works with his new coach Jan Železný, who has crossed the barrier multiple times, will play a key role in making this dream a reality.
Železný holds the javelin throw world record of 98.48m, set in 1996. He’s breached 95m three times in his career. Interestingly, Chopra and Železný have similar throwing techniques.
“When I started javelin, I used to watch his videos. Now, I will finally get to work and train with him. He is equally excited and feels I can go further and improve my performance,” says Chopra, whose earlier coaches included veteran German biomechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz (who retired in 2024) and famed German thrower Uwe Hohn, who recorded a throw of 104.8m in Berlin in 1984. The records were reset in 1986 after a change in javelin design.
Chopra’s fellow competitor and German javelin thrower Johannes Vetter, who is part of the famed 90-metre club (his personal best, a German record at 97.76m), believes that for the Indian, crossing 90 metres is not a question of if, but when.
“You can’t plan a 90-metre throw. I am pretty sure he has the ability. There are so many small movements in the body that need to come together when you want to throw that distance. Sometimes, it’s like playing in the casino,” quips Vetter.
Athletes are often on a singular pursuit of excellence. Swedish pole vault star Armand Duplantis has often admitted to visualising a winning moment over and over in his head. Usain Bolt famously said he never thought about limits. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, believed if you want to be the best, you must do things that others aren’t willing to.
So, then, what’s Neeraj Chopra’s strategy to push past his own limits?
The answer is quintessentially him: “If I stay injury-free, I know I can make the 90m mark… It’s just a number. For me, what truly matters is maintaining consistency and having the right mindset in the biggest competitions.”
It’s always been like that with him. After battling weight issues as a child, Chopra realised he had to be particular about his diet. “I’ve learnt so much. Sport teaches you discipline. But it also teaches you to take your work seriously. And eventually, it becomes clockwork,” says Chopra, who has also been moulded by injuries, surgeries and other bumps along the way.
And this life of discipline, focus and sacrifice, Chopra embraces. “When I’m home, I spend a lot of time with friends and family. When it’s time to compete and perform, you push yourself hard and keep your heart and mind strong. As athletes, we push ourselves even when we’re tired or broken. That’s what sets us apart,” he says.
A quiet persona off the field, Chopra has closely guarded his personal life. When he is out of the country, he loves travelling and is even a budding photography enthusiast. His social media presence is as matter-of-fact and austere as it gets.
Just days after this Esquire India photoshoot, Chopra surprised fans by announcing his marriage to Himani Mor. On Instagram, he shared wedding photos with a characteristically grounded message: “Started a new chapter of life with my family. Grateful for every blessing.”
Those who have trained alongside Chopra vouch for his down-to-earth demeanour firsthand. Arjuna awardee Annu Rani, who won gold for India in women’s javelin throw at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and has known him for almost a decade and even trained under the same coach briefly, says, “I’ve never seen Neeraj sad or disappointed. He likes to get along with his work. He is very down to earth. That makes him stand out.”
Vetter calls him “funny” and “down-to-earth.” “He’s very easy to talk to. It is always a relaxed atmosphere with him around in the training camp,” Vetter says. Pritam credits him as a “humble human being”: “Today, India is known not just for cricket—it’s known for Neeraj Chopra.”
At 27, his best years are still ahead of him. While it is too early to talk about the autumn of his career, Chopra does have some plans about what he wants to do when he decides to call it a day. “You know, I haven’t really thought about it too deeply,” he says, as he takes a moment to gather his thoughts. “I would like to give back to sports, be it starting an academy or helping youngsters.”
His impact on javelin’s popularity in India is already evident, with the country set to host a World Athletics Continental Tour javelin-only meet in India in May. The event is expected to be headlined by some of the world’s best javelin throwers. “No one would ask us about javelin before Neeraj won the gold in Tokyo. The sport’s found a new identity because of him,” says Rani.
Vetter feels Chopra’s performances have also helped javelin’s popularity in other nations. “There are many talented people in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh who have the right thinking about the movements of throwing. After Neeraj’s win in the Olympics, javelin has become more popular in all these countries.”
The sun is setting. As Chopra poses for more photographs in the golden hour, he balances the 800g javelin on the tip of his finger. He then casually hurls it a fair distance away from where we are standing, giving everyone a glimpse of his magical strength. He’s at ease with his friend.
Before he leaves, Chopra picks up a branch and launches it into the air, far away, like a makeshift javelin, asking his manager to record a video. Like a kid in the stadium in Panipat, who dreamt big and wanted to go the distance, the enthusiasm remains within him.
The younger Neeraj Chopra who rose through the ranks of Indian athletics would be proud. The accidental thrower is in sync with the spear.
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Grooming: Deepa Verma
Fashion team: Palak Valecha
Fashion assistant: Sumit Kumar
Production: Karma Productions