3 similarities between Virat Kohli and Neeraj Chopra
Virat Kohli and Neeraj Chopra have been two sensational athletes who have made India proud on the international stage. Kohli is counted as one of the greatest batters to grace the cricket field while Chopra has carved his own legacy in the javelin throw.
With more than 500 appearances across all formats, Kohli has amassed nearly 27,000 runs, with a total of 80 centuries and 140 fifties to his name. He holds the record for scoring the most (50) hundreds in the 50-over format and is fourth on the list of highest-ever run-getters across all formats in the game.
Meanwhile, Chopra has won 13 medals, including nine golds for India in major international competitions. At the Tokyo Olympics, he became the first Indian track and field athlete to clinch a gold medal at the Games. Moreover, with a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, he is now the only second male athlete from India to win individual medals in consecutive Olympic Games.
On that note, let's take a look at the few similarities between the two distinguished athletes.
#1 Consistency
Over the last decade, there haven't been many who have matched Virat Kohli's consistency in international cricket. The right-handed batter holds an average of around 50 in the Tests and T20Is and an exceptional 58.18 in the ODIs. In fact, such was Kohli's appetite for run-scoring that he was the fastest to reach the landmarks from 8,000 runs to 13,000 runs in the 50-over formats.
Similarly, Neeraj Chopra has been consistent with his podium finishes since 2022. In 2022, he won gold at the Diamond League in Zurich and silver medals at the Paavo Nurmi Games and the World Athletics Championships.
The following year saw Chopra win golds at the Asian Games, Doha Diamond League and World Athletics Championships in Budapest. This year has seen him win gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku and the silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
#2 Brought a revolutionary change in their respective sport
After Virat Kohli became the Indian captain, he started to put a special emphasis on fitness among all the players of the team. With support from Basu Shanker - the head strength and conditioning coach, the duo changed the Indian cricket team's culture towards fitness.
They introduced the Yo-Yo test (running aerobic fitness test) in 2017, in which all the players needed to have a minimum score to play for the national team. As a result, the fittest players made it to the team and helped achieve all-format excellence.
Interestingly, under Kohli's leadership, India reigned at the top of the Test rankings for five years (2016-21). Although the team could not lift major ICC events, they were consistent enough to reach the knockouts on most occasions.
On the other hand, Neeraj Chopra was the first javelin thrower from India to compete at the Games after 21 years at the Tokyo Olympics. It was in the 2000 Olympics, that Jagdish Bishnoi participated in this sport.
Chopra created history with his throw of 87.58m at the Tokyo Olympics as he became the first Asian athlete to win a gold medal in the men's javelin event. In the recently concluded Paris Olympics, the 26-year-old won a silver medal with his throw of 89.45m, further cementing his legacy.
A sport that never received recognition in the country is now receiving active interest in it due to Chopra's brilliance.
#3 Staging heroic comebacks after setbacks
In 2019, Virat Kohli went through a century drought as he failed to convert his starts into triple figures. Many doubted his career's longevity and ability to play big knocks, as he did in the past.
However, the 35-year-old made a resounding comeback in the Asia Cup 2022, where he hit a 122* off 61 in a T20I fixture against Afghanistan. The same year, he arguably played his career-best T20 knock of 82* off 53 in a T20 World Cup game against Australia in Melbourne.
Interestingly, Kohli had a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign until the final, where he rose to the occasion to hit a match-winning 76 against South Africa.
In the early part of his career, Neeraj Chopra missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing surgery on his elbow. However, he managed to win the yellow metal in the Tokyo Olympics.
“It is through defeats that I have reached this stage. In 2017, I had started competing in international events in the Diamond League, so from 2017 till 2021, I kept losing. It was in the 2022 Diamond League when I first got a position on the podium. So the winning didn't start all of a sudden,” Neeraj Chopra said during an interview at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit last year. [H/t Olympics.com]
Chopra then missed the Commonwealth Games 2022 due to a groin injury but clinched the first-ever gold for India at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest.
Both athletes have displayed their sheer talent and ability to make a strong comeback after facing a setback in their careers.