Olympics: Kerala cyclist's 22,000 km journey to cheer for Neeraj Chopra
India's star athlete Neeraj Chopra will have a special supporter at the Paris Olympics: a Kerala cyclist who has travelled all the way from Calicut, riding more than 22000 kilometers over two years.
Fayis Asraf Ali's arrival in the French capital was the culmination of a long journey on his Surly bicycle that took him across 30 countries, beginning on August 15, 2022.
Ali set off with a mission to cycle from "India to London to spread peace and unity".
Having cycled across 17 countries, he stopped in Budapest one August afternoon last year, when he came to know that the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist was staying across the street.
The ace javelin thrower was with the athletics contingent for the World Championships in which claimed another historic win.
A few hurried calls to a "known Kerala coach" led to a "dream meeting" with his sporting idol.
"I got a few minutes to talk to the Indian athletes and Neeraj told me since 'you are going to London why don't you come to Paris for th