Neeraj Chopra, who was honoured by the government upon his return to India on Monday following his outstanding performance in the Tokyo Olympics, explained why he made changes to his appearance for the quadrennial showcase event. "I've had long hair since I was 9-10 years old, but it started to bother me recently," he remarked during the felicitation event in New Delhi.
On Saturday, Neeraj Chopra's outstanding performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics earned India its first gold medal in athletics.
With over 2.5 million Instagram followers, India's new gold medalist's defining appearance has always been his long hair. The athlete stated during the ceremony on Monday that that now that the Olympics are over, he will explore growing out his hair again. Chopra explained that his long hair caused him issues during training, so he opted to cut it short for his match.
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"It was making me sweat and streaming into my eyes during a few of competitions. I tried wearing a hair band as well, but it kept falling off," Chopra explained.
According to Neeraj, he realised it was the Olympics, 'style baad mei ho jaayega, game pehle' (style may come later, game comes first), hence he decided to let go his trademark hairstyle for the sake of the game.
On Saturday in the men's final, the Javelin Throw star set a personal best of 87.58 metres. The Indian athlete finished first, just ahead of the Czech Republic combination of Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely. The distances thrown by the pair were 86.67m and 85.44m, respectively.
His best distance came in his second throw of the game. He was already ecstatic before the javelin even touched the ground.
Neeraj Chopra's gold medal was a glorious event for India. Chopra's victory not only won India its first gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but it also awarded India its second gold medal in Olympic history. Abhinav Bindra, a shooter, earned the first gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Chopra advanced to the final round of the men's Javelin Throw after finishing first in the qualification rounds.
