"Watched videos of Jan Zelezny as a kid" - Neeraj Chopra shares his story on World Athletics Day

The reigning javelin throw Olympic Champion, Neeraj Chopra, on the World Athletics Day shared his journey from Haryana to an Olympic podium on twitter.

In a video tweeted from his official account, the 24-year-old Chopra, states that he used to spend hours on streaming platform YouTube to watch javelin throw videos. Chopra even goes on to say that he was very much inspired by Czech Republic athlete and World Record holder in the sport Jan Zelezny during his formative years.

"When I searched for javelin world record, I came across Jan Zelezny. Then I his throw of 98.48 meters, I instantly knew he was the best in the world and started following him," he says.

Neeraj further talks about his struggles as an athlete during his younger days.

"I used to wake up at 5am in the morning and go to the stadium in a bus. If I did not get the bus, then I used to take lifts in bike, tractor or whatever I could get. I started from throws of 40-45m, kept training to reach 85-88m and the medals kept on coming" Neeraj says.