Neeraj Chopra won silver in World Athletics: Mother said, at the age of 13, her weight was 80 kg, got addicted to throwing a javelin while going to the gym

When Woman reached Chandra village, the happiness of Neeraj Chopra's Baba Dharmendra Singh and father Satish Singh at Chapal was visible from the smile on their faces. Congratulations are pouring in. Uncle Bhim Singh is telling the stories of his beloved son to all the people sitting there. Some children of the village and the house are engaged in making their faces happy and sweet for the sake of the visitors. I also sat at the chaupal for some time and expressed my curiosity to know about Neeraj's childhood.

Neeraj's weight was more than 80 kg at the age of 13

Baba Dharmendra, sitting nearby wearing a turban, started telling in a Haryanvi tone – 'Neeraj is the eldest child of the house. Everyone is very sweet. Especially your grandparents. Grandmother would pamper him with a bowl full of milk by making him sit on her lap. Churma and maida were eaten. Due to this, at the age of 13, Neeraj's weight increased to more than 80 kg. Seeing his fatness, the family members started getting worried. He was then sent to a gym in Panipat, where he would sweat profusely to lose weight.

Coach Sir was surprised to see Neeraj's first attempt

Dharmendra Singh told that it is a matter of those days - one day Neeraj left the gym and reached a nearby stadium. There some children were practicing javelin throwing. When Neeraj expressed his desire to throw good once after talking to those children, he caught it with a spear. For the very first time, Neeraj fell so far, that the children who had been practicing for several months could not reach.

The coach asked - who are you? Where are you practicing? Neeraj replied- 'Yes, I am Neeraj Chopra. To lose weight, I come to the gym near Chandra village right here. On this the coach said – leave the gym and come to the stadium from tomorrow. Here the weight will also be reduced. Neeraj left the gym on the same day and started practicing by going to the stadium.

I expressed my desire to visit the house and meet the women of the house. Neeraj's father, Satish Singh, dressed in a white kurta-pajama, took me to his house about 400 meters away from the meeting. While going home, I asked- Since when did Neeraj not come to the village? In response to this, the father says - it is going to be about 7 months. Came for two days after winning the Olympic medal. Right now he has a few more tournaments back to back, which will run till September. After that, he can come home if he gets time. After stopping for a while, he said again – in the last 10 to 12 years, he must have been with us for hardly a month. Now he has to celebrate Holi-Diwali, Rakshabandhan, and birthday all outside.

Luxurious building, outside which parked luxury car. Construction work was going on outside the house. Neeraj Chopra's sister Geeta and cousin Sangeeta met as soon as they entered that house. When she went a few steps ahead, mother Saroj, wearing a black suit, was standing. We headed towards the guest room, where our conversation started. Amid our conversation, calls were constantly coming on Satish Singh's phone to congratulate relatives and acquaintances.

Question: How happy are you with your son's achievement?

Mother: There is so much happiness that cannot be expressed in words. The moment she won the competition, I jumped with joy. If I had it, I would have kissed my forehead. Would hug. Haven't seen face to face for 7 months. Miss him a lot, but we never call him on our own. He always stays in other countries for practice. The time there and the time here is different, so when he gets the time, then he makes calls and video calls.

Question: Did Neeraj ever help you in the kitchen to spend time with you, or does he only help Papa in the field?

Mother: When he lived here, he used to work in the field like other children. He also used to help with all the work like bringing household items. Now when he comes here, he does not have enough time to work. Many people are working at home. I cook food, and everyone in the house eats together. Everyone sits together till late at night and talks. Laugh. Father Satish agrees with the mother's point and says – she is like the rest of the children. He likes meeting everyone, talking, taking care of the neighborhood, and eating and talking with everyone in the house.

Question: Mother finds it a big deal for her son to be a soldier or who gets more happiness than winning a medal for the country?

Mother: The son is a subedar in the army. He is defending the country in the army. Right now, if he is working hard in sports, he is winning medals for the country there too. Making the country proud. Is doing country service work in both places, so I am happy with both of his works.

Question: Any such habit of Neeraj that you do not like - like sleeping late, not eating food properly, or complaining about school?

Mother: No. All children are naughty, Neeraj was also mischievous in his childhood, but he never complained at home. He used to study, then he had to wake up, but since he started practicing sports, he never needed to wake up. He gets up on his own. He would go to the stadium for practice and then go to school on time. Anyway, he is not only my son, he has other mothers in the house, the son of the whole family, so I did not have to work hard to improve any of his habits.