Athletics Federation Of India Chief Calls Neeraj Chopra 'Cool Cat', Says "Will Win Olympics Gold"

Olympics, Asian, and World Championships gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is a 'cool cat', very consistent, and goes quietly about his job without taking too much pressure, says Athletics Federation of India (AFI) President Adille Sumariwalla about his star athlete's chances of retaining his gold medal in Paris Olympic Games. Sumariwalla said whenever he runs into Neeraj and enquires about his preparations and chances, the first Indian to win an Olympic medal tells him not to worry.

"He just tells me. 'don't worry, I will do it' when I ask him about his preparations. He is a cool cat, very consistent. He knows that everyone expects him to win the gold medal in Paris but he will go about his preparations and deliver when it matters most," Sumariwalla said during a panel discussion about India's chances at the upcoming Paris Olympics organised by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai (SJAM) on the occasion of World Sports Journalists Day on Tuesday.

"His strength is his consistency. There are at least four to five throwers in the world today, throwing over 90 meters, which Neeraj has never done. Everybody keeps putting pressure on Neeraj. We need to understand that the only reason why he's won the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and the Olympic Games is simply because of his consistency.

"He has never been the number one thrower in the world. He's always been, in terms of highest performance that year, number four or five. He's never thrown over 90 meters. But when it comes to crunch, he will throw his 88.89 meters. Those guys will throw 87 meters. He will win the gold," said Sumariwalla.

The AFI President, a top sprinter of his time who represented India in two Olympics, said