Anju Bobby George lashes out at IOA over not picking Neeraj Chopra as India’s flag bearer for Paris Olympics 2024
Iconic Indian athlete Anju Bobby George expressed her disappointment at the Indian Olympic Association over not picking Neeraj Chopra as the flag bearer for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Table tennis veteran, Sharath Kamal was announced as team India’s flag bearer for the prestigious tournament. In addition to that, Olympic bronze medallist MC Mary Kom was chosen as Chef de Mission for the Summer Games.
Indian Olympic Association’s decision to not consider Neeraj as India’s flagbearer seemed to not have gone down well with Bobby. She, recently, took to her Instagram and expressed her disappointment on the same.
"Surprisingly, the Indian Olympic Association did not consider our golden boy Neeraj Chopra as a flag bearer for the 2024 Olympic Games .. ????? ( All the federatins including Table tennis, yet to announce the team for Olympics) ?ultimately its Neeraj's choice based on his own assessment of the situation.. still..why ???....@weareteamindia." Anu Bobby George wrote in her recent post on Instagram.
Notably, the World Number 88 ranked Sharath Kamal holds many accolades under his belt. He has managed to win the National Table Tennis championship 10 times besides winning 13 medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Additionally, he has two medals at the Asian Games under his belt. On the other hand, Mary Kom holds the distinction of being the first female boxer to have won six world titles in boxing history.
Neeraj Chopra marks the beginning of the 2024 season with the Doha Diamond League
Meanwhile, India’s golden boy, Neeraj Chopra is all set to begin the new season on 10th May in the Diamond League series in Doha. It is worth mentioning that Neeraj Chopra is India’s first-ever Track and field athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
He brought India its first-ever javelin gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games and followed it with a gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Ahead of a new season, Chopra is eying the big goal of defending his title at the Paris Olympics 2024.
"This year, my personal goal is to defend my Olympic title, but it would also mean a lot to me to break the 90m barrier. The Doha Meeting, with good conditions and a great atmosphere, is a perfect opportunity to get my season off to the best start," Chopra told the Diamond League website.
Neeraj Chopra will partner up with his compatriot Kishore Jena, who will be making his Diamond League debut.