Neeraj Chopra, who won India its only Olympic gold medal at Tokyo, is a much-sought after sportsperson in this cricket-crazy nation. All brands — apparel, e-commerce, auto, consumer electronic brands and more–  want to associate with the 23-year-old Javelin star. 

With the medal-winning throw of the Javelin, Chopra propelled himself into an exclusive club of athletes with brand value that can match that of the international stars. JSW Sports, which manages Chopra’s portfolio, is already seeing many brands approaching them to associate with the athlete.

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“In initial interest from brands is anything to go by, I think India has found its next big superstar in Neeraj,” JSW Groups Parth Jindal told ET. Chopra is already associated with brands such as British electronics firm Amstrad, Gillette, Exxon Mobile among others. According to reports, the athlete used to charge between Rs 20 to 30 lakhs per endorsement. But, post-Tokyo, his brand value is expected to shoot through the roof.

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According to reports, Neeraj Chopra’s brand value is expected to go up by more than 200%.

Chopra made history by becoming only the second Indian to win an Olympic Gold. Chopra joined Abhinav Bindra (shooting) in a now exclusive two-man gold club after he ended up on top in the men’s javelin throw final with a best throw of 87.58m here on Saturday.

“It always feels great that he was the lone gold medallist in an individual sport for India. Everyone looks up to him. So I joining him today is like a dream for me. We used to think that Abhinav Bindra has achieved such a great feat,” Neeraj said.

Within hours of his pocketing the Gold, Chopra gained over 2 million followers on Instagram.  At 5.51 pm on Saturday, just 10 minutes after his win, the 23-year-old had 228k followers on the social media app. In the next 24 hours, his followers shot up to 2.6 million.