Rs 9,999 tickets to lowering spice levels for international athletes — how Neeraj the organiser spent the last few ahead of NC Classic

New Indian Express

20 hours ago

That is why Saturday's event could be significant for Indian athletics. If Chopra winning gold in Tokyo was the country's athletics equivalent of the Moon Landing event, meets like the one on Saturday could help normalise it in the years to come. "There are so many international competitions in countries like Germany every week — A, B, C category events," he said. "That's what I want here in India, at least four to five world-class meets every year. Our athletes should get these opportunities and the public should watch them live.
"I never thought such an event would take place. I am at peace... I'm able to give something back to India."
There's also the question of legacy and competitions like these go a long way in securing it. While this event has the blessings of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) — a pre-requisite — and WA were quickly on board, Chopra's name will provide an added legitimacy to it. 2016 Olympic champ, Thomas Rohler, and 2015 World Champ, Julius Yego, may have come even otherwise but a personal invitation from Chopra sealed it.
When one of the sport's big personalities calls you, you pack your bags to compete in a land you have never competed in before. That's also true for some of the companies who have sponsored the event. There's a learning partner (Duolingo), a content partner (Snapchat) as well as an outdoor partner (Mera Hoarding). It reflects the kind of trust firms have in the Chopra name that they have all come on board to sponsor an inaugural tournament.