In madness, a person crosses all limits and does all sorts of things. In love with someone, mad people talk about plucking the stars and the moon from the sky. But Asraf Ali’s madness is different and that madness is not for any girl but for Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra. Asraf Ali of Kerala started his journey 2 years ago to encourage Neeraj Chopra in the Paris Olympics. He reached Paris from Kerala riding a bicycle.
This special fan of India’s star athlete Neeraj Chopra has reached the capital of France in almost two years by cycling from Kerala. This fan named Fayis Asraf Ali started his cycling journey from Calicut, Kerala to Paris on 15 August 2022. He has reached Paris while traveling to 30 countries while covering a distance of about 22,000 kilometers.
Ali had set out on a mission to cycle from India to London with a message of ‘peace and unity’. During this, after cycling in 17 countries, when he stopped in Budapest on the afternoon of August 1 last year, he came to know that the Tokyo Olympics gold medal winning javelin thrower was staying there.
Neeraj Chopra was there with the team of players for the World Championship.
Asraf Ali called a well-known coach from Kerala and asked to meet the Indian team and only then he got a chance to meet his favorite sports star. After finishing his visit to ‘India House’, Ali said that he got a few minutes to talk to the Indian athletes and Neeraj told me that when you are going to London, why are you not coming to Paris for the Olympics?
Ali said that he thought that Paris would be a great opportunity to meet her again. So he changed his plan a little and got a visa and cycled to Britain before ending his journey here.
Asraf Ali said, ‘I am very excited to meet him again. I have requested PT Usha Madam (IOA chief). I am here to see him create history again. We will cheer him on August 8.’
Asraf Ali, an engineer by profession, carries four pairs of clothes, a tent and a sleeping bag with his bicycle, which makes the total weight of his luggage and bicycle about 50 kg. Ali said that he never stops at any hotel and gets some sponsors on the way. He told that during this journey, he had to go to Kerala twice in between to arrange for visa. He said that you only need a visa to cross the border, a cyclist does not need any other document. Ali told that in London, legendary cricketers like Chris Gayle, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina greeted him in Britain.
Tags: 2024 paris olympics, Kerala News, Neeraj Chopra, Olympics 2024
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 29, 2024, 19:30 IST