Pani Puri is the best street food for athletes, says Olympic gold winner Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Chopra has scripted history by winning the first medal for India in track and field events in Olympics. The star javelin thrower won the historic gold medal at Tokyo 2020 today. His throw of 87.58m in the second round placed him on top and Neeraj was able to retain his first rank throughout. For the first time since 2008, the Indian National Anthem was played out at the Olympics, all thanks to Neeraj Chopra. This is the first Olympics for the 23-year-old Neeraj who hails from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana.

Athletes usually pay close attention to their diet and stay away from junk food to maintain their bodies. Well, according to Neeraj Chopra, our desi pani puri is the best street food snack for athletes. Neeraj revealed this in an interview given to ESPN.

Our gold medalist stated to ESPN that he feels there’s no harm in eating pani puri. In his opinion it’s the best street food for athletes if eaten once in a while. The reason behind this is that pani puri consists mostly of water that fills your stomach. The puri is quite light and is made with flour. Pani Puri also has very little spice in it and thus there is no harm in indulging in it.


Do you know that Neeraj Chopra is also a good cook and is proud of his recipe of namkeen chawal? When asked about his favourite cheat meal that he would like to have after his win in the interview with ESPN, Neeraj Chopra said that he usually likes to have something sweet. Neeraj said that usually he restricts the amount of sweets he eats, but he really likes a homemade churma, which is prepared with crushed roti, ghee and sugar. This is something he normally can’t eat while training so it’s a perfect cheat meal for him.