Enter: The brand called Neeraj Chopra, India's new sporting superstar
Neeraj Chopra unleashes a spear that soars into the Tokyo
sky, stops himself before the foul line by gripping the turf for a split
second, and springs back in one swift motion. Next, he nonchalantly turns his
back on the javelin — still in its flight path — and holds his arms aloft.
In a matter of seconds on August 7, the 23-year-old not only
sealed an astonishing win to end a country’s century-old drought in track and
field at the Olympics but he also announced — with power, poise, panache and a
photogenic face — the arrival of India’s brand new sporting superstar.
The floodgates are now open. Within a day of his Olympics feat,
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra promised to gift an SUV to the javelin
thrower; edtech major Byju’s declared a cash reward of Rs 2 crore; and IndiGo
offered him free air travel for a year.
According to brand experts, Chopra has vaulted himself into the
elite club of Indian athletes whose brand values can rake in endorsements by
the dozens. They add that the man with the golden arm could even surpass some,
if not all, top cricketers — the demigods who stand well above athletes from
other disciplines in India.
Chopra has been brand ambassador for British electronics firm
Amstrad, among others. But, post-Tokyo, his brand value will shoot through the
roof, says image guru Dilip Cherian. “People with track and field gold are
rare. So the choice set of the number of people available for this branding market is
very small,” he adds.
In Chopra’s case, the fact that he serves in the Indian Army (as a
junior commissioned officer) adds to his being an exception and works to his
advantage in the prevailing atmosphere of hypernationalism.
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