Being Neeraj Chopra is a very tricky thing in the Indian digital scenario at the moment. While there are millions of people who are literally in love with him, it has also left his life open to a ton of unwanted criticism and opinions about the way he should live it.

While the Olympic gold medallist’s image as the great, humble guy who only focuses on throwing javelins and working to get better at his skill, has definitely made his fan base a lot larger, it has also made the fans’ eyebrows rise every single time he does a television commercial or practically anything else that isn’t around his sport.

Desh ke liye javelin khelna ho ya life mein apno ko surakshit rakhna ho, meri taiyaari puri hai. Kya aap bhi ho #HarWaqtKeLiyeTaiyaar?

Apne financial future ko secure karne ke liye, aaj hi visit karein https://t.co/hq7epqYHYy#LifeInsurance #RakshakaranKiReet @TataAIA_Life #ad pic.twitter.com/qZqRtM9GKB

— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) October 8, 2021

So when the 23-year old shared the video of his second commercial advertisement with a big brand, this time in the insurance sector, fans dropped their baggage of unsolicited advice on the athlete’s shoulders about how he should “stay away” from such vices.

I think you have to stay away from this advertisement and film industries etc. If you involved in all these things then you can't concentrate on your game.

— sonal shinde (@sonal24121998) October 8, 2021

You have only focus on your game pls don't do this type of advertisement aur films think all this disturb your game .....

— Kavitasunny (@Kavitasunny2) October 9, 2021

बेटा... तू ना ad ही करियो..
प्रैक्टिस के नाम पर तुझे गशे पड़ जाती है
अगली बारी वो porki गोल्ड ले जायेगा।

— Tarot Jeevi (@tarot_xpert) October 8, 2021

भाई कहां चक्कर में पड़ गया तू इन ऐड्स और बॉलीवुड के।

— dhiraj sharma (@dheeeeeru) October 8, 2021

Not too long ago, Chopra’s acting skills received a lot of attention in a commercial that he had shot with CRED. While it involved a lot more “acting work” than the one shown in the insurance advertisement, people tend to like it simply because of the humor aspect and because they got to see the typically shy and grounded Chopra be outside of his natural characteristics and be more loud and flashy.

Although, social media critics were still so disappointed that they bombarded his Twitter handle with tons of cautionary messages about the bad impact of Bollywood, and the numerous reasons why he should never get too serious about acting and doing TV ads.

Haha Neeraj bhai you are good. But please do not get too serious about this acting and all. You are an athlete first. An Olympic Champ. We fans want to see you achieve more titles. We want to see you cross the 90 m mark in Javelin. Baaki to aap samajhdar ho.

— Pandunanda (@pandujee4) September 19, 2021

Bhaishaab ne bolya tha ki..ek athelete ko star vali feeling ni aani chahiye sports m star feeling aana thik ni h....lagta h bhaishaab ko star vali feeling aa gyi...

— Ritu Atrish (@TheRituAtrish) September 19, 2021

Neeraj I think you should focus on javelin practice than the advertisement because these brands won't be permanent

— Sakt Launda (@SridharRamesh3) September 19, 2021

Regardless of whatever people say, one of the ways in which a well-earned Olympic gold medal adds value to the athlete’s life, especially in India, is to boost their popularity sky-high. It is only fair for the athlete to capitalize on it and get some commercials. 

And the fun part is, most of these “keyboard warriors” will not even think twice before agreeing to do the commercials after watching the number of zeroes at the end of the cheque they would receive for just a couple of hours of their day to shoot it.

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