India and its Love of Sports Beyond Cricket

We Indians are extremely particular about our food and our love for sports. For decades, that love for sports was restricted to cricket and cricketers. But lately, this love for sports is expanding rightly, as love is supposed to be – endless and beyond boundaries. With the Olympic Games 2024 at its peak, along with its peak of controversy, in this article, we would like to explore what our favorite athletes' diets consist of.

Golden Boy: The Neeraj Chopra Diet

The Olympian tries to maintain a body fat percentage of roughly 10% . According to GQ, his breakfast includes- coconut water, along with egg whites,two pieces of bread, a bowl of Dalia and fruits. For Lunch he prefers to have a balanced meal of protein and fibre mainly curd and rice, along with pulses, grilled chicken and salad. Chopra enjoys snacking on dry fruits and juices between his meals. 

Chopra also indulges in cheat meals once in a while. He likes churma (a Haryanvi delicacy) and enjoys Pani Puris from time to time. 

PV Sindhu’s diet mostly included fruits, nuts and proteins like eggs, grilled chicken, etc. She is diligent about excluding junk food from her diet and things like ice cream and chocolates are a big no for her. 

She takes one day off every month to enjoy a cheat meal, which usually includes Hyderabadi Biryani since she hails from Hyderabad. (As per article in Men XP)
 

Sharp Shooter: Manu Bhaker’s Vegetarian Diet

Manu Bhaker is a vegetarian, who prefers a simple diet that is rich in lean protein, healthy fats, and low-GI carbohydrates. She does not consume eggs being a vegetarian. She prefers healthy homemade meals. Hydration is another major part of Manu Bhaker's diet as she always maintains good hydration levels as per her body and training to avoid injuries and exhaustion.

Wrestling Queen Vinesh Phogat’ Diet

Vinesh Phogat prefers eating home cooked meals. Phogat has a more structured approach to her diet.  Her pre training meals consists of eggs, oats, nuts, tomatoes, or bread. For Lunch its home made food consisting of roti, seasonal vegetables, protein rich daals, salad, dahi and fruits.

Dinner mainly consist of seasonal vegetable, rotis and eggs. (Source: Indiatimes)

Sources

1. Neeraj Chopra diet: Here's what the Olympic gold medalist eats in a day | GQ India
2. Diet tips from India's Paris Olympics 2024 contenders: Neeraj Chopra, Rohan Bopanna (mensxp.com)
3. Vinesh Phogat reveals her go-to food combinations and diet plan (indiatimes.com)