Neeraj Chopra competes in the javelin throw as an Indian track and field athlete. In the Indian Army, he is a Junior Commissioned Officers (Subedar). He is the first Indian track & field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.
He is also the first Indian track and field athlete to win the IAAF Global U20 Championship, and he established a world U20 record throw of 86.48 meters in 2016, making him the first Indian athlete to do so. He is rated second in the world by World Athletics as of August 2021.
What is Neeraj Chopra Famous For?
Being a track and field athlete from India.
Awards
Won the Arjuna Award in 2018.
Vishisht Seva Medal for 2020 (VSM).
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award winner in 2021.
Where is Neeraj Chopra From?
On December 24, 1997, Neeraj Chopra was born. Khandra, Haryana, India is where he was born. He grew up with his sisters, Sangeeta and Sarita, at the home of his father, Satish Kumar Chopra, and his mother, Saroj Devi.
He graduated from Chandigarh’s Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College and is now studying a Bachelor of Arts at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab, as of 2021. He is of Indian descent. He is a member of the Ror Maratha ethnic group. Hinduism is his faith. Capricorn is his zodiac sign.
Neeraj Chopra Career
He became interested in the javelin after observing several javelin throwers at the Shivaji Stadium in Panipat and was immediately drawn to the sport. In the winter of 2010, he went to the neighboring Panipat Sports Authority of India (SAI) complex, where javelin thrower Jaiveer Choudhary saw his early promise.
Choudhary and a few more experienced athletes who had trained under a javelin instructor in Jalandhar taught him the fundamentals of the sport. Soon after, he won his first medal, a bronze in the district championships, and convinced his family to let him reside in Panipat while he improved his skills.
At the young level, he dominated the national stage and received several international awards. After winning the gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, he rose to prominence. His winning throw of 86.48 meters in Poland remains the under-20 javelin throw record, and he became the first Indian track and field athlete to win a world championship and set a world record.
Despite having a better U20 record than reigning Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott, he was unable to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics since the cut-off date was July 11, the week before the U20 championships.
The Indian Army offered him a direct appointment as a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Rajputana Rifles with the rank of Naib Subedar as a result of his outstanding performances at the South Asian Games, a rank that is rarely given to athletes who are usually recruited as non-commissioned officers (NCO).
With a throw of 85.23 meters, he earned gold in the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships. In August, he traveled to London for the World Championships, but was knocked out before reaching the finals. He had a major groin injury in the finals of the Zurich Diamond League on August 24, incurring the injury on his third attempted throw, in which he reached a distance of 83.39 meters; as a result of the injury, he fouled his fourth try and skipped his last two authorized attempts. His first and best throw of 83.80 meters was good enough for seventh place.
As a consequence, he dropped out of the competition for the rest of the year. Chopra spent a month at the Joint Services Wing sports center in Vijayanagar after recuperating from his ailment, which he ascribed in part to a hectic competition schedule and a lack of sufficient nutrition and relaxation. He set a new season best of 86.47 meters in the men’s javelin throw at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Indian to win the event.
With a throw of 87.43 meters in the Doha Diamond League in May 2018, he surpassed the national record for the second time.
He made his Asian Games debut in August 2018, representing India, and he was also the Indian contingent’s flag-bearer at the 2018 Asian Games Parade of Nations. He won gold in the Men’s javelin throw at the 2018 Asian Games on August 27, 2018, with a distance of 88.06 meters, breaking his own Indian national record. It was also India’s first gold medal at the Asian Games in the javelin throw.
He was the sole track and field athlete nominated by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the country’s top sports honor, the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna, in that year, but instead received the Arjuna Award in September 2018. In November, the army rewarded him with an out-of-turn promotion to subedar.
He was forced to withdraw from the 2019 World Championships in Doha owing to an elbow injury that necessitated surgery and kept him out for 16 months. However, the Indian quickly rebounded following his comeback, qualifying for Tokyo 2020 during a competition in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in January 2020. He made his Olympic debut on August 4, 2021, at Japan’s national stadium, representing India.
With a throw of 86.65 meters, he won his qualification group and qualified for the final. He won the gold medal in the final on August 7, 2021, with a throw of 87.58 meters on his second try, becoming the first Indian Olympian to win a gold medal in athletics and the first Indian Olympic medallist in sports after independence.
India finished with a total of seven medals in the Games, surpassing its previous best result of six medals at the 2012 London Olympics. Chopra became the world’s second-ranked athlete in the men’s javelin throw as a consequence of his performance in Tokyo. He also became the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal, after Abhinav Bindra’s victory at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the men’s 10 m air rifle.
Neeraj Chopra Girlfriend
He is not married, according to his personal life. He is concentrating on his professional track and field career. He may be dating a lovely lady right now, or he could be single. Any new information about his romantic life will be posted here.
Neeraj Chopra Height and Weight
Neeraj Chopra is 1.82 meters tall, or 6 feet and 0 inches tall. He is 86 kg in weight. He has a muscular physique. Black is the color of his eyes and hair. He has a heterosexual sexual orientation.
Net Worth and Salary of Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra’s professional career as a track & field athlete pays well. Contracts, wages, bonuses, and endorsements are all sources of money for him. His projected net worth is Rs. 30 crores (INR) as of 2021, with a salary of Rs. 7 crore (INR).
Did You Know?
Nijju is his nickname. He is sometimes referred to as the “golden boy.” At the 2018 Asian Games, he was the flag-bearer for India at the opening ceremony. In his village, he has a large family of 17 people. He is the first Indian to win the Javelin Throw gold medal. In 2016, he was promoted to the rank of Naib Subedar in the Indian Army as a Junior Commissioned Officer. He had extensive elbow surgery in May of this year. He enjoys riding his motorbike.