After decades of ignominious existence, Indian athletics finally found a gold medalist with Neeraj Chopra winning the men's javelin throw at Tokyo Olympics with consummate ease. (More Sports News)
Now, it's a fun time for Indian athletics. And leading the chorus is the Athletics Federation of India. In a captivating tweet on its official handle, the federation pays tribute to Chopra and his German coach Dr. Klaus Bartonietz, featuring a liberally photoshopped image of the Indian athlete as a spearman.
Have a look:
And Chopra reacted with a couple of emoticons. He sure loved it.
Interestingly, it turns out that 'King Klaus' is also the name of the horse owned by Bartonietz's daughter.
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Then there's that 'Game of Thrones' character -- Lord Klaus Lannister, second son of Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock.
Somehow, Chopra has been depicted in the meme as the more (in)famous brother Jamie. And one fan was quick to point it out.
Meanwhile, Chopra has slammed the Indian fanfare and excessive media attention which have made him sick, literally, saying "one gold isn't enough".
In an interview with The Times of India, the 23-year-old said, "the attention is indeed important, but there's a Diamond League at the end of the month. I had planned to participate in it, but my training stopped completely once I returned from the Olympic Games because of the incessant number of functions. I also fell sick."
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“These things need to change in Indian sport. All other Olympic champions are participating in Diamond Leagues. Their season is continuing. We can't be satisfied with one gold medal. We need to think at a global level. We need to continuously perform at global events like the Diamond Leagues," the national record holder added.
