A day after visiting his hometown Panipat, Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra arrived in Chandigarh on Wednesday to meet Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
The Indian javelin thrower was received by state Sports Minister Sandeep Singh. He had skipped the state government’s honouring ceremony held on August 13 in Panchkula due to high fever. Answering about his health, he said, “My health is fine. I am taking proper care and will take all necessary precautions. I am looking forward to restart practice.”
Revealing his plans on taking over as head of Centre of Excellence, in Panchkula, in a post offered by the state government, Neeraj Chopra said, “I will think about this. I will try my best to promote sports in the country. Right now, my target is to bring a medal in the World Championship next year. I have tournaments scheduled including Commonwealth Games.”
About his plans to leave the Indian Army and join Haryana government, Chopra said, “As I said, my plan is to bring more laurels for the country, nothing beyond that.”
“I thank Haryana government for taking proper care of players. I must appreciate the state sports policy. It was a dream come true and I hope this gold medal would motivate youngsters and coming generation,” added Chopra.
Back in his hometown, Neeraj was given a warm welcome in the village. Over 150 sweet-makers were called to prepare food and sweets for the visitors from different districts of Haryana and youths were seen struggling for handshakes and clicking selfies with the Olympics medallist.
