Introduction
Subedar Neeraj Chopra Born on December 24, 1997, PVSM VSM is an Indian track and field athlete who currently holds the title of Olympic and world champion in the javelin throw. He is the first Asian to win the gold medal in javelin at the Olympics and the World Championships. In addition to being the first Indian track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. Chopra is a junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army. In 2016, he established a global U20 record with a throw of 86.48 meters. At the 2022 Asian Games, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 2022 Asian Games, and the 2023 World Championships, he won gold. He still owns the Indian record for the javelin throw as of 2023.
Early life and education
In Khandra, Panipat, Haryana, Neeraj Chopra was born into an agribusiness-oriented Ror family. He was a student at BVN Public School and has two sisters. As of 2021, he was a graduate of Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College and was enrolled in Lovely Professional University's Bachelor of Arts program. After receiving attention for his performance at the South Asian Games. He was given a sports quota appointment as a junior commissioned officer in the Rajputana Rifles of the Indian Army.
Athletics career
Early training
Subedar Neeraj Chopra was bullied for being higher-weight person as a child and was eventually signed up for gyms in Madlauda and Panipat. He took up the sport after being inspired by Shivaji Stadium's javelin throwers. His initial coach was javelin thrower Akshay Choudhary of the Panipat Sports Authority of India. Chopra made rapid success under Choudhary's tutelage, emerging victorious in district championships with a bronze medal and persuading his family to sponsor his training in Panipat. He started training under Naseem Ahmad at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula when he was 13 years old. He developed his throws. With a new national record throw of 68.40 meters. Chopra won gold in the National Junior Athletics Championships in October 2012.
International beginnings
Neeraj Chopra made his international debut at the World Youth Championships in Ukraine in 2013. At the 2014 Youth Olympics Qualification in Bangkok. Chopra threw over 70 meters at the senior nationals and won his first international medal—a silver—in the process. He threw 81.04 meters at the All India Inter-University Athletics meet in 2015, setting a junior world record. He transferred to the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala in 2016 after placing sixth at the 2015 National Games. Training there was a game-changer for his career because of the improved facilities and national-level javelin throwers. However, he later went back to training on his own because he felt the regimen of his assigned coach was too demanding.
2016–2018
Neeraj Chopra started training with coach Gary Calvert in early 2016 after setting a personal best at the South Asian Games with a throw of 82.23 meters. At the 2016 World U20 Championships. He won gold and broke the world junior mark with a throw of 86.48 meters, however an injury kept him out of the Rio Olympics. At the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships, Chopra won gold with a throw of 85.23 meters after training in Germany and Bangalore. He broke his national record in March 2021 with a throw of 88.07 meters, despite illness and injuries. He went on to win gold at the Karlstad Meet and bronze in the Kuortane Games in 2022.
2020 Tokyo Olympics
Subedar Neeraj Chopra competed in his first Olympics in Tokyo on August 4, 2021, winning his qualifying group with a throw of 86.65 meters. With an 87.58-meter throw in the championship round on August 7. He became the first Indian to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics. With his triumph, India surpassed the record set in the London Olympics in 2012 and now has seven medals overall. Following Abhinav Bindra, Chopra became the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal. He gave P.T. Usha and Milkha Singh his victory. Although some see him as the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in track and field, Norman Pritchard, who participated in the 1900 Paris Olympics, is recognized as the first by the Indian Olympic Association and the IOC.
Post Tokyo Olympics
With a throw of 89.30 meters in June 2022, Neeraj Chopra broke the previous record nationally. With a throw of 89.94 meters at the Stockholm Diamond League, he shattered it once more. He threw an 88.13-meter javelin in July to win silver at the Oregon World Championships. After that, he won the Zürich Diamond League Final with a throw of 88.44 meters and the Lausanne Diamond League with an 89.09-meter throw. He won the Doha Diamond League in May 2023 to take the top spot in the world rankings. With a throw of 88.17 meters in the 2023 World Athletics Championships, he took home the gold. Two years later, at the 2022 Asian Games, he earned another gold.