Neeraj Chopra Warns Young Athletes Against Shortcuts As India Battles Doping Menace

Last Updated:June 19, 2026, 12:02 IST

Chopra has partnered with the IOA to launch an anti-doping campaign, urging young athletes to avoid shortcuts and trust patience, hard work and clean sport.

India’s golden boy Neeraj Chopra is taking aim at a challenge far bigger than any rival on the field.

The two-time Olympic medallist has stepped up the fight against doping in Indian sport, announcing a new awareness campaign in partnership with the Indian Olympic Association aimed at educating young athletes about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs and contaminated supplements.

The initiative was unveiled during the IOA Athletes Forum on Friday, where Chopra addressed participants through a video message and spoke candidly about the growing temptation among young athletes to chase quick success.

‘There Are No Shortcuts’

Chopra, who has spent over a decade building one of the most successful careers in Indian athletics, said many youngsters today underestimate the patience required to reach the top.

“I have seen how kids want to enhance performance by doping to win big medals. But from my story, I can tell you it took me 10 years to get to the Olympic medal."

The Olympic champion stressed that sporting success is a long-term process, not something that can be achieved overnight.

“You need patience to achieve something in sports. I am seeing that it has come down in today’s kids. They want to achieve things quickly, cross 80 metres in one year. It takes five years to do that."

Chopra also highlighted another growing concern: athletes unknowingly consuming contaminated supplements.

“Sometimes kids take supplements which might be contaminated. When I was a junior, whenever I heard about doping bans, I used to get so surprised by the time lost. I had promised myself then that I would never take this route."

A Growing Concern For Indian Sport

India has topped the World Anti-Doping Agency list of countries with the highest number of doping offenders for the past three years, making education and awareness a key priority for sporting bodies.

Chopra’s involvement adds significant weight to the campaign, given his reputation as one of India’s most respected athletes.

Return To Competition

The anti-doping initiative comes as Chopra prepares to return to action at the Doha Diamond League after recovering from a back injury.

The javelin star famously breached the 90-metre mark in Doha last year with a national-record throw of 90.23m, although he finished second behind Germany’s Julian Weber.

Having won the Doha title in 2023 before consecutive runner-up finishes in 2024 and 2025, Chopra will be eager to resume his quest for victories.

(with PTI inputs)

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Siddarth Sriram

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His...Read More

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