Indian track and field athlete
Neeraj Chopra (born 24 December 1997) is an Indian track and field athlete, who is the reigning Olympic champion, World champion and the Diamond League champion in the javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in his event and the first such Asian to win gold at the World Championship. A Junior Commissioned Officer Subedar (JCO) in the Indian Army, Chopra is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics. He is also the first track and field athlete from India to win at the World Under-20 Championships, where in 2016 he achieved a world U20 record throw of 86.48 m, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record.
Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete, who is the reigning Olympic champion, World champion and the Diamond League champion in the javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in his event and the first such Asian to win gold at the World Championship
On 4 August 2021, Chopra made his debut at the Olympics, representing India at the Japan National Stadium He topped his qualifying group for entry to the final with a throw of 86.65 metres. Chopra won the gold medal in the final on 7 August with a throw of 87.58 m in his second attempt, becoming the first Indian Olympian to win a gold medal in athletics, and the first post-independence Indian Olympic medalist in athletics.
Chopra’s medal gave India a final total of seven medals at the game, surpassing the country’s previous best performance of six medals earned at the 2012 London Olympics. As a result of his performance in Tokyo, Chopra became the second-ranked athlete internationally in the men’s javelin throw. Chopra also became the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal after Abhinav Bindra, who won the gold medal in men’s 10 m air rifle in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He dedicated his win to sprinters Milkha Singh and P. T. Usha, both former Olympians from India. According to some historians, Chopra is the first Olympic medalist in track and field for India, but this status is disputed. Both the International Olympic Committee and Indian Olympic Association officially recognize Norman Pritchard to have been the first Indian track and field Olympic medalist, having competed at the 1900 Paris Olympics, even though India was under British rule at that time
In June 2022 at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, Chopra placed second with a new personal best of 89.30m and registered the new national record. He broke his own national record with a throw of 89.94m for second place at the Stockholm Diamond League.
In July 2022, Chopra with his throw of 88.13m on fourth attempt in the men’s javelin throw final at the Oregon World Championships ensured himself a historic silver medal. This was India‘s second medal at the World Athletics Championships after long-jumper Anju Bobby George‘s bronze in 2003. On August 26, he won first place at the Lausanne Diamond League with a throw of 89.09m and qualified for the Zürich Final. On September 8, he won the Final with a throw of 88.44m, becoming the first Indian to do so and qualifying for the 2023 World Championships.
In May 2023, Chopra clinched the top spot in the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 88.67m.In the same month, he, for the first time, achieved first position in the men’s javelin throw rankings issued by World Athletics.
In August 2023, he won the gold medal in 2023 World Athletics Championships with a throw of 88.17m.
