Neeraj Chopra brought laurels to a nation of 1.35 billion people by bringing home an Olympic Gold Medal. There was exuberance and jubilant celebrations all over the country as the 23-year-old won the gold medal in an individual track and field event, 111 years after Norman Pritchard’s two silvers in 1900. India has arrived at the Olympics, and it was heartening to see Indians performing well in athletics, wrestling, boxing, golf and other disciplines.
Neeraj Chopra was barely 18 when he was directly recruited into the Indian Army and given a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) rank of Naib Subedar in Rajputana Rifles (RAJRIF). A normal soldier (Rifleman in RAJRIF and Sepoy in other regiments) takes around 20 years to attain that rank after filtration through three other ranks. The youngster had then got the gold medal in junior nationals, which is a pre-exquisite as per the Mission Olympics policy of the Army rolled out in 2016. The CRPF, Delhi Police, BSF and Railways had made a beeline to recruit this young talent, but few senior officers in the Army and outstanding sportspersons were successful in motivating Neeraj to join the RAJRIF, a regiment with outstanding sportsmen in athletics, rowing, wrestling and basketball; with its Regimental Training Centre in Delhi, where incidentally the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was also shot.
As luck would have it, his unit 4 RAJRIF, a highly decorated unit and with three serving Generals, is also celebrating it Bicentenary Raising Year—it was raised in 1820. There couldn’t have been a more befitting gift to the unit than the Olympic Gold Medal earned by this extraordinary young man!
The idea of Mission Olympics was first mooted in 2006 by General J.J. Singh as Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) but was given a proper shape as a policy during General Dalbir Singh’s tenure as COAS. As per the previous policy, an outstanding sportsperson could be directly recruited as a Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) at the rank of Havaldar but the new policy has raised the level to a JCO.
Sentiments run strong among the retired and serving officers and soldiers that the ‘Golden Boy’ deserves a Class 1 job and must be given the Commissioned Rank of a Lieutenant. He has age on his side and can easily rise to the rank of a Colonel or a Brigadier. Neeraj Chopra has another 10 to 12 years to actively participate in his discipline, as we saw a 37-year-old European also competing in the same event at Olympics. Thereafter, he can be suitably utilised to promote athletics and sports as a coach, and can hold office at the Director-level in the Indian Army.
There is precedence in the Indian Army when Dhyan Chand, the hockey wizard, was given a commission and he eventually retired as a Major. There are 17 types of commissions in the Indian Army and to make Neeraj Chopra a commissioned officer, the rank he richly deserves, four or five of them are suitable. The two most suitable entry points for Neeraj are the Special Commissioned Officer (SCO) and the Regimental Commission Officer (RCO) categories. The next best are the Army Cadet Commission (ACC) and Short Service Commission. Then, there is a Special List (SL) Commission for outstanding JCOs to become officers.
The achievements of Neeraj Chopra are unparalleled in the history of Indian sports. From a 13-year-old Neeraj throwing 55 mts at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, it has been an onward and upward journey for him. He set a world record at IAAF World U20 Championships in 2016 by throwing 86.48m at the age of 18. He holds a junior national record of 68.40 m and has been bettering his own national record every now and then. In 2018 at Doha, he clocked a throw of 87.43 m. Later in the same year at the Asian Games, he won the gold by throwing 88.06 m. It is important to continue to harness this exceptional talent with a job security and pension benefits.
The Indian Army has to be swift in tinkering with the laid down policy for outstanding sportspersons to be given direct commission and use any of the routes discussed above. The training period is different for various commissions and can also be reduced or done away with by the highest authorities to ensure that Neeraj Chopra keeps training hard for the Paris Olympics and the World Athletics Championships.
The chief minister of Haryana has already offered Neeraj Chopra a Class 1 job, and Indian Railways, Air India, CRPF, Delhi Police, BSF and the corporate sector would be too keen to take him under their wings. By staying back in the Army, Neeraj Chopra can follow the motto of ‘each one teach one’ that the Indian Army follows and prepare three to four world-class athletes who can bring gold medals in succeeding Olympic meets.
Lt Gen IS Singha, AVSM, VSM (Retd), was Colonel of Rajputana Rifles. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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