PUNE: There was a golden man, a golden boy and a Golden Retriever, yet, there was no talk of ‘gold’.
It was difficult to say who had the ‘fan boy’ moment when Abhinav Bindra, 38, hosted Neeraj Chopra, 23, at his home in Zirakpur near Mohali on Wednesday.
To say the least, it was one rendezvous that Abhinav, who won India’s first-ever individual Olympic gold in 2008 Beijing Games, had been waiting for the past 13 years to happen.
“Well it was certainly a splendid moment for both Abhinav and Neeraj to meet and talk about their respective journeys. Abhinav had been waiting for the moment for many years and he invited Neeraj after the latter got relatively free after his win,” Manisha Malhotra, who has been associated with JSW Sports, and is Abhinav’s friend for many years, told TOI. Neeraj is supported by JSW.
“Since Neeraj will not be participating in any tournament in the coming months, he will take a break with everything else and want to be with his family,” said Malhotra.
In a meeting like this, there is a lot to grasp. Manisha, who was there with the two Olympic champions, said the discussion was all about their respective journeys.
“Although they come from different backgrounds and belong to completely opposite sports, both Abhinav and Neeraj are process oriented athletes. Their discussion was all about knowing their process of achieving excellence. Everything was discussed, other than the question ‘what did you do to win gold’.”
Neeraj shared pictures of him with Abhinav and ‘Tokyo’ on his social media accounts.
“Took my Olympic medal to meet its elder sibling from Beijing today. Thank you @Abhinav_Bindra sir for your family’s warm hospitality and for ‘Tokyo’ who I will cherish forever!” Neeraj tweeted.

Abhinav, known for his thoughtfulness and admiration for fellow Olympians, gifted a Golden Retriever puppy named ‘Tokyo’ to Neeraj.
“I hope that ‘Tokyo’ will be a supportive friend and motivate you to get a sibling named Paris (wishing him luck for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games) for him in 2024,” Abhinav tweeted.

“The two of us agree that the process is the Goal. The process is the Gold. And the Process is most rewarding. Happy to have spent the afternoon with this young Gold Medallist,” he said in another tweet.