Neeraj Chopra who bagged the gold medal at the prestigious World Athletics Championships in Hungary’s Budapest on August 28 won over millions of Indian hearts by showing his love and respect to the Indian National flag.
Chopra had a fan moment when a Hungarian woman asked for his autograph after his win. But the athlete refused to sign as the woman wanted him to give his autograph on the Indian National Flag. “Waha nahi sign kar sakta (I won’t sign there),” he said. However, he signed on her shirt sleeve leaving her delighted.
Neeraj Chopra is a Subedar in the Indian Army and he was enrolled in 4 Rajputana Rifles as a direct entry Naib Subedar on May 15, 2016.
The incident was brought to the light after a journalist from Sportstar posted a photograph of Neeraj signing on a Hungarian woman’s shirt sleeve. “A very sweet Hungarian lady (who spoke excellent Hindi) wanted Neeraj Chopra’s autograph. Neeraj said sure but then he realized she meant on India’s National Flag. ‘Waha nahi sign kar sakta’ Neeraj said. Eventually, he signed her shirt sleeve. She was pretty happy all the same,” wrote journalist Jonathan Selvaraj.
A very sweet Hungarian lady (who spoke excellent Hindi btw) wanted a Neeraj Chopra autograph. Neeraj said sure but then realised she meant on the 🇮🇳 flag. 'Waha nahi sign kar sakta' Neeraj tells her. Eventually he signed her shirt sleeve. She was pretty happy all the same. pic.twitter.com/VhZ34J8qH5
— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) August 28, 2023
Several other sports enthusiasts also lauded the gesture of Chopra and praised him for showing respect towards the Indian National Flag. “Neeraj Chopra continues to win hearts both on the field and off the field,” one post read.
This is Neeraj Chopra, Olympic Gold Medalist.
— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRaii) August 28, 2023
After winning the #WorldAthleticsChamps in Budapest yesterday, A hungarian fan came to him with an Indian flag and asked him to sign it for her.
Subedar Neeraj Chopra humbly denied and said “ Sorry Mam, it is a violation of my flag… pic.twitter.com/mc7afI6h4e
A Hungarian lady wanted Neeraj Chopra's autograph on the Indian flag, Neeraj denied her and said 'I cannot sign it on the flag'. Later he signed it on the lady's tshirt sleeves. (Sportstar).
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 28, 2023
– The respect and admiration Neeraj has for the Indian flag! 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/tei4Xsy4fM
Chopra invited Pakistan’s Nadeem for a photo with the Indian National Flag
Chopra meanwhile is also being lauded for his gesture of inviting Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan for a photo with the Indian National Flag after the latter left the frame with Pakistan’s flag.
Following the historic gold medal victory, Neeraj and Nadeem hugged each other. Nadeem was not included in the picture when the Indian and Jakub afterward appeared in front of the cameras holding their respective flags, as has grown into custom. After holding the Pakistani flag, the silver medalist left the frame, but Neeraj invited him to join them for photos as they posed together with the Indian flag in the background.
The video of the incident is going viral over the internet with netizens praising Chopra for his gesture.
Watch Neeraj Chopra inviting Silver medalist Arshad Nadeem (likely without flag) under Bharat's 🇮🇳 #AkhandBharat pic.twitter.com/Hy9OlgKpTE
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) August 28, 2023
Neeraj Chopra scripts history
India’s Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra made history in the early hours of Monday, August 28, capturing his country’s first-ever gold medal at the World Athletics Championships and edging out Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem by less than a meter at the final of men’s javelin throw event in Budapest.
Neeraj recorded his best throw of 88.17 m in his second attempt and kept his lead intact till the very end. Nadeem, the Commonwealth Games champion with 87.82 m bagged a silver medal. Meanwhile, Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch secured the bronze with the best throw of 86.67 m. Kishore Jena (best of 84.77 m) finished fifth while DP Manu (best of 84.14 m) finished sixth.
Neeraj was seen respectfully folding the Tricolor at Tokyo Olympics
Notably, this is not the first time Chopra has been lauded for his love and respect for the Indian National Flag. Earlier, in the year 2021, he was also praised after he respectfully folded the Tricolor post celebrating the win at the Tokyo Olympics. Neeraj Chopra, a Subedar in Indian Army then adhered to the flag code and folded the tricolor before putting it inside his bag.
The way he folded the flag❤❤
— Dr Nivedita (@NiveditaKunwar) August 7, 2021
Army ethos on display🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
Congrats JCO @Neeraj_chopra1
Nation is proud of you!!
Jai hind🇮🇳🇮🇳#IndianArmy @adgpi #Gold pic.twitter.com/nzGvlEX3FI
Reportedly, this current win of Neeraj Chopra is his second attempt at the World Championships after he secured a silver medal last year. After the renowned shooter Abhinav Bindra, Neeraj is now the first Indian to hold the Olympic and World Championships gold medals simultaneously. The feat now puts Chopra as India’s most successful athlete to date.
