Ranjith Ravichandran: X-man at Neeraj Chopra Classic symbolises evolving face of athletic fandom

Bengaluru, Jul 5 (PTI) Athletics fan base is swelling in the country thanks to 'Neeraj Chopra effect' and Coimbatore resident Ranjith Kumar Ravichandran, who earned a fully paid trip to watch the NC Classic hosted by the superstar himself, exemplified the die-hard followers tracking their favourite player rain or shine.

Last month, Ranjith tweeted his wish to watch the inaugural NC Classic if somebody sponsors Rs 2000 to cover his expenses. To his delight, he received an all-expense paid trip to the event with Chopra offering him a full VVIP experience, including accommodation.

The 30-year-old said he felt "surreal" to be watching this world class event, which has been given Category A status by World Athletics, following his "random" tweet.

"I just randomly tweeted, I must have forgotten about it. After a day or so, suddenly a notification popped up in 'X' platform, a quoted tweet from Neeraj himself. I was like: Is this even real? Somebody come and pinch me so that I can feel it," Ranjith, who works in a private firm in Coimbatore, told PTI.

"All of a sudden everything was happening. People were sharing the news and I was getting calls and all those things. I couldn't believe it initially. I checked twice. It's from Neeraj Chopra. I had to refresh and check it again whether it's real or not.

"Then I got a call (from NC Classic organisers) saying you are the lucky person to get sponsored to visit the event, stay in a (five-star) hotel and all those things. It was a pretty surreal moment at that time." Asked what will be his first reaction when he meets Chopra in person for the first time, he said, "I think I will be frozen for a moment. I will ask, are you real? I'll also get a signature so that I can probably frame it for a lifetime." He has been closely following Chopra since his early days, from 2016 when the Indian superstar became the junior world champion.

"I have been following him since the beginning of his career, his junior world title in 2016. He even made a world record which still stands. Every time when I see the record I get goosebumps because that is the only Indian record you could see in world athletics.

"His Asian and Commonwealth Games gold in 2018, then Tokyo Olympics happened. It was a very much surreal moment for many people," Ranjith, who is also pursuing a post graduate in Data Science in Coimbatore, said.

"We have a group of friends. People were (travelling) in so many places after COVID, so we had a trip. The event (Tokyo Olympics final) was happening, we put all our trip aside, we were watching that javelin final. We were screaming like anything when it happened (Chopra won gold)." Ranjith had to sacrifice his sleep as he had to stay awake to watch Chopra's events around the world, including Diamond League meetings, which happens late at night in India due to time difference.

"I am also working and sometimes it's difficult but I manage somehow. I have to sacrifice sleep to watch Neeraj events late at night.

"Usually, Neeraj's events end after midnight. But I will keep the alarm ready or remain awake till late night to watch the events. I have to sacrifice my sleep," said Ranjith, who has his mother and a sister in the family.

Apart from following athletics events, he has also travelled to Bhubaneswar in 2018 to watch the hockey World Cup but on his own expense.

"I used to play hockey in my college days and was in the NCC. My favourite hockey player is Manpreet Singh. He is such a great player but so humble and does not show off," Ranjith said of the player who captained India to a historic bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics. PTI PDS PDS UNG