How Neeraj Chopra Balances Long Locks, Army

'Constant training makes hair care difficult, and my hairline has started receding.'

Neeraj Chopra may be a double Olympic medalist, but off the field, his biggest challenge in recent years has been managing his hair.

Chopra, who holds the rank of Subedar Major in the Indian Army, admits that his long hair often raises eyebrows when he dons the uniform.

'I am serving as Subedar Major but people wonder after seeing my long hair whether I am a soldier or not. But whenever I wear the uniform I get a haircut or tuck the hair under my cap,' Chopra said in a YouTube interview with Lallantop.

'I joined the army in 2016. I was doing well in javelin so they directly inducted me as a JCO -- Junior Commissioning Officer. I felt good. And even now whenever I come back after winning a medal I definitely visit my Army Centre which is in Delhi.

'I once won after I came back after winning the (gold) medal at the Asian Games in 2018, I had long hair then. All the athletes had to go to meet General Bipin Rawatji. We were told that if we have to go to General Rawat, we will have to cut our hair,' the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist added.

'I agreed to it but when the barber came to cut my hair, he tried to cut it really short. I stopped him and told him 'Let's see I will tell Sir that I am an athlete and speak about the long hair'.

'I explained to General Rawat about my long hair problem, he reassured me saying: "You are an athlete, it is no problem". But still whenever I wear the army uniform, I cut my hair or tuck it neatly under my cap.'

Chopra, the first Indian to win a gold medal in athletics at the Olympic Games, says managing the long locks is a challenge during intense training sessions.

'I have liked long hair since childhood, though I was not inspired by anyone. However, maintaining it is tough. Constant training makes hair care difficult, and my hairline has started receding,' he admitted.

He pointed out that many athletes face similar issues due to excessive sweating and lack of time for proper hair care.

'The biggest problem that all the athletes around the world face is that if they keep long hair, if you see tennis stars like Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer, they also experience hair fall. This is because you sweat a lot during training. I don't know how the girls manage to look after their long hair, regularly shampooing it and applying it,' he said.

'For me, it is difficult. We come back from training, without drying the sweat we just wipe the hair with a towel after taking a shower. It is not practical to wash the hair daily so it becomes weak.'