"Style Baad Mei, Game Pehle": Neeraj Chopra On Why He Cut His Long Hair

Neeraj Chopra was India's biggest star at the Tokyo Games, bringing home the country's first-ever Olympic gold medal in athletics. But one thing that was strikingly different about him at the Olympics was that he was missing the signature long locks. The 23-year-old, who was felicitated by the government upon his return to India on Monday, revealed why he changed his looks for the quadrennial showpiece event. "I have kept long hair since I was 9-10 years old, but of late, it started to bug me," he said at the felicitation ceremony in New Delhi.

"In a couple of competitions, it was causing me to sweat, and it was dripping onto my eyes. I tried using a hair band also, but it would fall off," Chopra explained.

"So I thought that it's the Olympics, style baad mei ho jaayega, game pehle (style can come later, the game comes first)," he concluded.

Neeraj Chopra registered a best throw of 87.58m in the men's javelin throw final to secure the gold medal in Tokyo.

It was his second of six throws and he was already celebrating before the javelin was on its way down.

"Yes, with the effort it takes from the body, I knew that the throw was something special. I thought it was my personal best throw, but it fell slightly short of that," he said.

"You feel it in your body. And the next day I felt the pain on my hips, my shoulder, my elbow, but when you are winning a medal, it didn't matter," he said.

"I thought that even if it caused an injury, I'll deal with it later," he said.