Looking dapper in a suit, two-time Olympic medallist and javelin star Neeraj Chopra showed up in a different avatar at the Sports University Haryana campus in Sonepat on Saturday. As the co-owner of the UBS Athletics Kids Cup, a youth initiative in India where children aged 7 to 15 compete in the 60m sprint, long jump and ball throw, the 28-year-old was happy to interact with the children.As a professional athlete, he advised them to eat healthy, including “ghar ka khana, fruit, desi khana”. He was also happy to field questions from the little ones. “Which is your favourite medal?” and “Do you eat Maggi or burger?” were among the questions that struck a chord.He answered every innocent question with childlike candour. “I love all the medals, but the one I like the most is gold,” he said, before adding, “I have eaten Maggi and burger, but don’t overeat it.”His new avatar may raise an eyebrow or two, but he is not hanging up his boots anytime soon.“I have a great team to back me up. They keep things together. My only interest today was to interact with the children and see them perform. My priority, as long as I am competing, is to keep doing well and win more medals. At the same time, if I were to start an initiative like this 10 years later, I think it would be too late, in my opinion,” Neeraj told The Tribune on Saturday.“Also, with time, we all need to change a bit. It was different earlier, when I was only interested in eat, sleep, train and repeat. But I need to give something back to society as well, apart from the medals. How can I help the children and help our country grow? We are talking about hosting the Olympics in 2036, and we need to start working bit by bit so that we win many medals,” he added.After being forced to end his season following an ankle injury sustained during the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League ahead of the Asian Games, Neeraj is on his way to a full recovery. He expects to return to competitive action in May 2027.“I have started rehab work and will start running in a few weeks. Hopefully, I can start throwing again in a little over a month. The Diamond League calendar is out, and it starts in May. Then there is the World Championships in Beijing, which would be a big focus as well. But I intend to return fully fit, and I hope I can start competing in May next year,” he said.