Can Brand Chopra break the mould?

{WEAVING HIS MAGIC} ONE OF INDIA'S BIGGEST SPORTING FACES

- Rasesh Mandani

MUMBAI: As India awaits Neeraj Chopra's defence of his Asian Games gold at Hangzhou, there is complete appreciation of the distance he has travelled from being the rising javelin star of Jakarta 2018. His Olympic gold at Tokyo and World Championships title mean India's track & field athletes finally have feats beyond PT Usha's missed bronze of Los Angeles 1984 to look up to. His charm, athletic build and honest-to-goodness persona have made Chopra, 25, the pole star among Indian athletes at Hangzhou.

Ahead of his medal event, Chopra's Instagram handle announces his newest brand association with smartwatch makers Noise, who have Virat Kohli as their other brand ambassador. In between India's medal rush at the Games, Chopra shows up in TV commercials, dripping sweat while promoting the upcoming cricket World Cup for Coca Cola's energy drink Limca Sportz.

After his golden 87.58 meters throw at Tokyo, Chopra's Instagram following has leapfrogged to 7.1 million from 143K. His brand endorsement portfolio has seen a 10x jump with more than 16 brands from Under Armour, YouTube, Tata AIA to Gillette inking deals.

"The fundamental reality about Olympic athletes in India is their biggest jump in market value comes with an Olympic medal.