Sport is cruel and Neeraj Chopra is human

Neeraj Chopra finished eighth, with a best throw of 84.03m at World Championships 2025

Neeraj Chopra had made it a habit to end up on the podium. And in doing so trained us all for it. An Indian athlete consistently winning at the world level was a first and we had all gotten used to it. That’s why it is taking time to sink in. To see him not win and finish eighth comes as a shock. But that’s where the beauty of sport comes in. It is cruel and Neeraj is human. He said in the post event press interaction that he was nursing a back injury picked up on September 2. He isn’t offering it as an excuse. That’s not him. But he did suffer from it and it impacted his effort.

To me it doesn’t matter. What matters is Neeraj tried his best to defend the title. He did not complain, he trained to his best and he went and put on a show. Yes it wasn’t good enough. Often times that’s what sport is all about. It will teach us how to lose and lose more. Neeraj, who has won it all will, will know that not always can he make the podium however good he is and all of India will know that even the greatest do fail.

WATCH: Dejected Neeraj Chopra sits alone after rare failure in Tokyo, says 'had back issues but didn’t tell anyone'

There is a life lesson in this for us all. Each one of us are entitled to fail. If Neeraj can, we can. It is okay to fail and each failure is a stepping stone to success. Unless you fail, you won’t know what success is and you will not be able to enjoy success either. Neeraj will now have to go back to the basics. Get his game together and train the hardest. All this after some time off after a long season. Overall he has had a sub par season despite making the 90 meter cut and he will know it more than anyone. Now it is on him to get the consistency back and make 2026 his own.

Having known him for years now, I will bet on Neeraj. He is not about flamboyance and show off. He will accept failure for that’s the first step. Thereafter comes the introspection. He will try and figure out where he went wrong for therein will start the road to recovery. And by the time he takes field in 2026, he will have worked it all out. Make no mistake he will be hungry for 2026. Every champion is. That’s how they are made of. A loss strikes a deeper chord and wakes them up. It will be the same for Neeraj. With Sachin Yadav doing well, he will now have competition at home as well and all of this augurs well for Indian sport going forward.

Coming back to Neeraj, it is time now for recalibration. Rethink the plan and reset for the future. It will happen for that’s how it is with the very best.