Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete, who is the reigning Olympic champion and world champion in Men’s javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in javelin and he is the first asian to win gold in his event at the World Championship.
Neeraj Chopra Biography
Neeraj Chopra born on 24 December 1997, He participated in the 2018 commonwealth Games and the 2018 Asian Games, serving as the flag bearer in the latter and winning gold medals in both. As of 2023, he is one of only two Indians to have won an individual Olympic gold medal.
The youngest ever Indian Olympic gold medalist in an individual event and the only individual to have won gold on his Olympic debut. His silver medal at the 2022 World Championship made him the second Indian to win a medal at a World Athletics Championships.
He subsequently won the first gold for India at the 2023 World Athletics Championship and the second gold at 2022 Asian Games. He is also the World Under 20 Championships, where in 2016 he achieved a World U20 record throw of 86.48 m and its becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record.
Neeraj Chopra Early Life
Neeraj Chopra was born in a Haryanvi Ror family in Kandra, a village in Panipat, Haryana. He has two sisters and family is largely involved in agriculture. He did his schooling from BVN Public School.
He graduated from Dayanand Anglo Vedic College in Chandigarh, and as of 2021, was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts from Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab.
At the South Asian Games and his future potential the Indian Army offered him direct appointment as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Rajputana Rifles with the rank of Naib Subedar. He accepted this offer and he joined the army under the sports quota.
Neeraj Chopra Athletic Career
After the local children teased him about his childhood obesity, Neera Chopra’s father enrolled him in a gymnasium at Madlauda, he was later enrolled in a gym in Panipat. While playing at the Shivaji Stadium in Panipat, he saw some javelin throwers and then began participating himself.
In 2010, Chopra visited the Panipat Sport Authority Of India centre, where javelin thrower Akshay Choudhary from Ghazibad and Neeraj practised early talent in the winter. To observe Neeraj Chopra;s ability to achieve a 40 metre throw without training and impressed by his drive.
He soon won his first medal, a bronze in the district championship and then persuaded his family to allow him to live in Panipat while developing his abilities. After training under Chodhary for a year, the 13 year old Chopra was admitted to the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula.
There, he trained under coach Naseem Ahmedm, a running coach who made him train in long distance running along with the javelin throw. As Panchukula lacked a specialised Singh downloaded a video of Czech champion Jan Zelezny and attempted to use it as a copy of his style.
In the National Junior Athletics Championship in Lucknow on 27 October 2012, hw won gold with a new national record throw of 68.40 metres.
Neeraj Chopra Achievements
Neeraj Chopra dominated the national youth level scene and even won several international events. His real frame came when he won the gold medal at The IAAF World U20 Championships in Poland in 2016 with the record 86.48m.
In 2017, Neeraj Chopra became the Asian Champion. He also won gold at the commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast in 2018 and the Asian Games in Jakarta in the same year.
Neeraj Chopra has held the Men’s javelin national record since 2016 till date. His current national record is 89.94m in 2022.
In Tokyo 2020, in 2022. He became the first Indian to win a silver medal at the World Athletics Championship held in Oregon. While the reigning champion and gold winner Anderson Peter of Grenada threw to a distance of 90.54m. Neeraj chopra have following national awards:
- Arjun Award in 2018.
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021.
- Padma Shri on Republic Day honours in 2022.
- Param Vishisht Seva Medal on Republic Day honours in 2022.
- Sotteville Athletics Meet, Savo Games in 2018.
- Meeting Cidade de Lisboa, Folksam Grand Prix in 2021.
- Kuortane Games in 2022.
- The pune cantonment’s Army Sports Institute stadium was renamed “Neeraj Chopra Stadium” by Rajnath Singh on 27th August 2021.