With the shaadi season going on in full swing and the restrictions on weddings and functions being lax, a lot of the weddings have happened similar to how they used to, pre-covid. Moreover, as the shaadi and festive season have come consecutively, we have all been enjoying all sorts of deep-fried foods and sweets. While most of us can afford to over-indulge through food and distractions, many can’t just like Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra who has decided to move to the US to focus on his training to get away from distractions caused by wedding invitations.
Neeraj Chopra has moved to the US to go back to living the simple life of an athlete which allows him to fully focus on his sport. He plans to compete in the Diamond League and has started his 90-day training at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Centre in San Diego. Neeraj Chopra spoke about his simple schedule in the US, “My life here is very simple. I have my breakfast by 7:30 in the morning and then head to the centre where I train for over two hours. We eat our lunch there and then we return to our apartment to rest and recover,” he also mentioned to The Tribune, “We head to training again by 4 in the evening. We finish training and return after dinner. After that, it is a normal day where I call up family or friends and rest. I will be honest I have to put a lot of effort in training but I am very happy to get back to training.”
Chopra has chosen to stay away from the spotlight and from the wedding invites fueled by the shaadi season in India. After his Olympic win, he had become a very popular face and was invited to many social events by officials and people of stature. While he dutifully attended them, he noticed that this messed with his training schedule. He said that due to the shaadi season in India he gets a lot of invites. He also said that Patiala is currently very cold and the weather in the US is perfect for him which allows him to focus on his training. Good on him!
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Neeraj Chopra spoke about his weight gain after the Olympic victory, “I love Indian food so I ate everything after Tokyo. I did not think about my diet as an athlete so I gained around 12 to 13 kilograms.” He said that he has lost 5-6 kgs in the last 20 days which is closer to his off-season weight. Chopra has a hard time getting back to training as he had to force himself to complete the workouts and had a sore body. Can’t say I don’t relate to that.
Glad to know that Neeraj Chopra is back to his desired lifestyle and what is right for his career. And also, he sounds at peace and is happy doing something he finds joy in. Isn’t that something we all aspire for?