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Subedar Major Neeraj Chopra PVSM VSM (born 24 December 1997) is an Indian track and field athlete. Considered as the greatest Indian javelin thrower, he's a double medalist at the Olympics, World Championships, and the Asian Games. He has won the Diamond League once. Chopra won the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, becoming the first Asian javelin throw athlete to do so.[9] He became the first Asian to win a gold in javelin at the World Championships after his win in 2023. Chopra has won gold medals in every major tournament. He has a podium finish streak in 24 consecutive competitions, dating back to 2020.[10] Since his performance at the 2016 World U20 Championship, he continues to hold the junior javelin throw world record.[11]
Chopra is the first athletics gold medalist for India. As of 2024[update], 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. He is one of the five individual multiple medalists for India at the Olympics after his silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. He was the first Indian to win at the World U-20 Championships, where he achieved a world U20 record throw of 86.48 m in 2016, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record in athletics.[12]
Chopra's silver medal at the 2022 edition made him the second Indian athlete to win a medal at the World Championships. He has also won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and is a multiple Asian Games gold medalist. He won gold at the 2018 and 2022 Asian Games, while also serving as the flag-bearer in the former edition.[13]
Since June 2021, he has shown consistent results, finishing as a winner or runner-up in 24 consecutive competitions, finishing first overall in qualifying rounds at two back-to-back Olympic Games, and first and second overall in qualifying rounds at two back-to-back World Championships.[14]
- ^ Pritam, Norris (30 November 2023). "Neeraj Chopra entered sports to lose weight. Boys would tease him, call him 'sarpanch'". ThePrint. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ Ansari, Aarish (19 July 2024). "Neeraj Chopra: Did you know the Olympic champion is known as 'sarpanch'?". Olympics. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ "Neeraj Chopra". Paris 2024 Olympics. Archived from the original on 9 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Neeraj Chopra". 2018 Commonwealth Games. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Republic_Day_20was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Tokyo Olympics 2020: Armyman Neeraj Chopra hailed 'a true soldier' by defence forces after historic gold". Firstpost. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ "Neeraj Chopra rises to world No. 1 in World Athletics men's javelin throw rankings".
- ^ "Neeraj Chopra sets new national record with gigantic throw at Stockholm Diamond League". The Hindustan Times. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ Bhattacharyya, Gautam (28 August 2023). "World Athletics: Is Neeraj Chopra India's greatest athlete ever?". National Herald. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ Ramesh, Akshay (23 August 2024). "Neeraj Chopra digs deep in Lausanne to extend incredible 2174-day streak". India Today. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ "Neeraj Chopra's javelin records, a telling graph". Olympics.
- ^ Selvaraj, Jonathan (24 July 2016). "Neeraj Chopra creates history to become first Indian world champion in athletics". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Neeraj Chopra, India's Flag-Bearer, Aims For Gold On Asian Games Debut".
- ^ Ramesh, Akshay (23 August 2024). "Neeraj Chopra digs deep in Lausanne to extend incredible 2174-day streak". India Today. Retrieved 23 August 2024.