Jharkhand Teen Shilpa Kumari Aims to Emulate Neeraj Chopra, Win Olympic Gold

'I want to emulate Neeraj Chopra and win Olympic medal': U-17 javelin record holder Shilpa

Kolkata, Aug 14

Hailing from a family of farmers in a remote village in Gumla district, Shilpa is the current national record holder in the women's U-17 javelin category and has emerged as one of the country's most promising young talents.

For Shilpa, it was Chopra's gold medal-winning performance at the Tokyo Olympics that sparked her interest in javelin. She watched the historic moment on television alongside villagers at her village 'chaupal'.

"I watched Neeraj Chopra win gold at the Olympics. That inspired me to take up javelin. I want to emulate Neeraj sir and win an Olympic medal," Shilpa said during an interaction with SAI Media.

"As I watched the people in my village celebrate Neeraj Chopra's triumph, I decided that winning an Olympic medal in javelin would be the target of my life from then on," she added.

Her Olympic dream received a major boost when she attended an athletics trial at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Ranchi, where coach Binod Singh spotted her natural ability.

"When I first spotted her three years ago during a trial at our SAI centre, I was impressed by her sheer natural talent. At that time, she was a total novice. But I selected her due to the fact that she displayed an extremely strong throwing ability," Singh recalled.

"I could see the potential and realised that she was a very good prospect for the future. Once I inducted her into training at the SAI centre in Ranchi, Shilpa showed excellent progress. She quickly improved and is now the brightest upcoming prospect for India in women's javelin," he added.

Singh also highlighted the role played by SAI in supporting Shilpa's development, given her family's financial limitations.

"Her parents are farmers and do not have the means to provide the required support for Shilpa's sports career. It is the facilities, training, equipment, diet, etc provided by SAI which has helped me to transform an uncut gem into a shining diamond," he said.

Shilpa made her mark at the national level in 2025 when she recorded a throw of 55.62m at the 69th National School Games to set a new women's U-17 mark.

Her effort was also better than India's U-18 national record of 55.19m, set by Haryana's Deepika in 2023. However, Shilpa's 55.62m effort was not officially recognised by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) as the competition was not sanctioned by World Athletics.

Her official personal best came at the 2025 Junior Nationals, where she finished fifth with a throw of 45.90m, representing an improvement of nearly 10 metres.

"As an athlete, my only focus is to do my best. If the federation has not officially registered my throw, I will try to produce an even better attempt at my next official competition," Shilpa said.

Singh remains confident that the teenager can reproduce and surpass her unofficial record as she progresses to the senior level.

"Shilpa is not concerned whether her best throw is officially recognised or not. We know what she can do. She will achieve that mark again," he said.

For now, Shilpa's immediate target is the Summer Youth Olympics, scheduled to be held in Dakar, Senegal, from October 31 to November 13, 2026.

"My first goal right now is to finish on the podium at the Youth Olympics. But my ultimate goal is an Olympic medal. I will dedicate my Olympic medal to Neeraj sir," the teenager said.

— IANS