Former Olympic Champion Abhinav Bindra calls out Shekhar Gupta’s ignorance

Leading controversial journalist and the Editor in Chief of The Print, Shekhar Gupta has once again come up with a controversial article which is sure to hurt the sentiments of many sport lovers across India. An interview which he conducted with the Asian Games gold medallist and Indian record holder in javelin throw, Neeraj Chopra, Gupta has managed to hurt the sentiments of not just cricket lovers but also of those who love and watch other sports and athletics events in India. The title of the interview published on The Print reads, “Meet India’s only truly world-class athlete, and it’s not Virat Kohli”. While there is no doubt that Neeraj Chopra who brought a gold in India’s medal tally at the Asian Games is a ‘world-class athlete’ but its the word ‘only’ which is causing problems.

There are many other world class athletes and players which India has produced. Mary Kom and Vijender Singh in boxing, Abhinav Bindra and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in shooting, athletes like Dipa Karmakar and P T Usha have brought in many medals for India in non-cricket sports. In cricket alone India has produced legends like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan to name a few, the list would become endless if we add names from the present crop and the pre 1983 World Cup era. Shekhar Gupta and The Print therefore are wrong when they say that Neeraj Chopra is the only world class athlete in the country at this point of time. The cheap jibe at Virat Kohli suggests that both The Print and Shekhar Gupta want to leave no stone unturned into making this a controversy. Neeraj Chopra is an absolute star in the making who has achieved much and yet is just starting out in his career at 21 years of age, he has a lot to attain and a lot to prove.

Not only does a title like this diminish the value of Neeraj Chopra who is as non-confrontational as anybody gets but it also makes one feel as if the athlete himself has some personal vendetta against the Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli. Neeraj and Virat Kohli are stars in their own right and both deserve all the attention they receive. For Shekhar Gupta and The Print to undermine to prove another’s sincerity is plainly pathetic. Shekhar Gupta is a senior journalist who has deviated from the right track enough times in the past. The Print too is known to sensationalize issues and make them sound and look over dramatic, and this is a perfect example of how a controversy can be created out of nothing. Neeraj Chopra throughout the course of the interview does not speak a single line about Virat Kohli, Virat himself too must have always appreciated the efforts of Neeraj and his colleagues at the Asian Games. They bear no ill-will and mutual respect has always been accorded by sports persons to one another.

Shekhar Gupta and The Print have undermined not just Virat Kohli but all the present day Indian athletes and also those from the yesteryears who have contributed a lot to the sporting scene in India. Neeraj Chopra deserves all the accolades in the world for his achievements but not at the cost of humiliating other sports stars in the country, there is enough space in the country today for various sports and their players to shine. Shekhar Gupta and The Print have taken a cheap shot just to sensationalize a non-existent matter in order to stay relevant, dirty tricks indeed.