Thunderous applause, packed stands and Neeraj Chopra victory: Bengaluru witnesses home champion's class and rare athletics celebration

Is India ready for an athletics revolution — not just on the track, but off it as well? Neeraj Chopra has tried, with the support of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), JSW Sports, and World Athletics, through the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025. Lending his own name to India’s first-ever Continental Tour Gold athletics event underlines the two-time Olympic medallist’s deep understanding of his brand value and the impact it can create.

But the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

And if you were in the famous West Block Stand of the Sri Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru or anywhere else in the arena on Saturday, you’d know: it was one very tasty pudding indeed.

The organisers, who seemingly did not do enough outdoor advertisement and activation activities before the competition, did an excellent job during the one-day historic track and field event as Neeraj Chopra and a group of elite athletes including former Olympic champions and record holders, lit up Bengaluru to deliver a rare thrilling night of athletics in India.

Neeraj delivers on his big night in India

That Neeraj, surprise, surprise, won the competition with a throw of 86.18m was the icing on the cake. He started with a foul, but guess what, he only needed one more throw. His second attempt of 82.99m put him in the lead, surpassing Rumesh Pathirage’s 81.90m in the strong 12-man field.

Rumesh responded with an 84.34m effort on his third attempt and celebrated wildly, arms flung in the air, turning back to revel in the moment in front of the Indian crowd in the North Block.

Neeraj’s third attempt? A mind-boggling 86.18m, delivered amid cold and windy conditions in Bengaluru.

It was bewildering not just because Neeraj responded with a perfect throw immediately after being challenged for the gold on home turf, but because he has an uncanny ability to deliver his best when it matters most. To crystallise his clutch ability, here’s a piece of trivia — Neeraj hasn’t finished outside the top two in any top-level competition since 2021.

How ‘Mr Consistent’ Neeraj does it time and time again is less of a mystery and more a testament to his unbeatable mental strength, genius, and relentless hard work.

Since the third attempt, ‘Mr YouTube’ of Kenya, Julius Yego, was the only one who came close to Neeraj with a throw of 84.51m and Neeraj replied with 84.07m in the fifth round, but there was no real challenge.

The real challenge probably was how the Indians would take to a historic athletics event in India. The magnitude of the event cannot be summarised in such few words, but India isn’t the greatest example of a sporting nation.

Those fears were allayed pretty early, as 14,593 fans turned up at the stadium — most of them already in their seats two hours before the event began, humming along to the rap songs of Haryana’s Dhanda Nyoliwala and dancing to the moves of The Vixens Crew.

“I am happy that the event has finished successfully,” Neeraj beamed at the press conference, delighted with a win-win as both athlete and co-organiser.

It’s now over to the journalists to write about what they witnessed. As for me, from Bengaluru, what I saw was this: It was Neeraj’s tournament, his home turf, and his gold medal — witnessed by a surreal crowd, a rarity for an athletics event in India. But Neeraj is rare. Let’s savour him, celebrate him, and hope the next generation is getting inspired.