Paris Olympics 2024: Neeraj Chopra – The gold medalist Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track-and-field athlete who has brought India’s name to the global map of Javelin. Today, he is the holder of a Diamond League title and again earned the new title of India’s Golden Boy at the Paris Olympics 2024. From the Olympics and many other championships, he collected splendid gold medals.
Currently, he is portraying himself as an Indian Athlete at the Paris Olympics 2024. With his hard work and determination, he is now qualified for the finals that will be held on 8 August 2024.
Since emerging as a gold medalist in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games he consolidated his role as the first Indian track-and-field athlete singly to win an Olympic gold and the second Indian athlete overall just after Abhinav Bindras’s double triumph in the 2008 Olympics. Chopra is now paying attention to holding his gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
He is truly the inspirational personality of today’s generation. So let’s give some light on Neeraj Chopra’s life journey.
What are Neeraj Chopra’s life and times?
Neeraj Chopra was born on 24 December 1997 in Khandra, Haryana, India and his forename is Subedar Major Neeraj Chopra. As described above, he is an Indian track and field athlete who is reigning the Olympic champion and World championship in Men’s javelin throw.
His birth took place in the Ror family. Serving in Panipat Haryana, he was born to Satish Kumar who is a farmer, and his mother, Saroj Devi who is a homemaker. Chopra has two siblings and he is the eldest sibling in the family, with two minor siblings.
He completed his schooling in his town and graduated from Chandigarh and as of 2021, he was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts from Punjab.
Chopra’s family was concerned about his weight when he was a teenager and urged him to start going to the gym in Panipat daily. Chopra would sit at the adjacent Shivaji Stadium to watch boys of his age practice javelin throwing after a session.
Despite the lack of knowledge about javelin in their village, Chopra’s family supported him when they heard about his enthusiasm for the sport. He trained at Shivaji Stadium for a year before moving to the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula, Haryana, where Naseem Ahmad coached him.
This success in the Olympics was topped off by a sporting career that had started at the age of 13 years. Now he has become the defending champion. At the age of 19, he was also serving as a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army.
How did Neeraj Chopra’s athletic career begin?
After his parents sent him for training. Subsequently, he began receiving training, and in 2010, he decided to pursue his passion for javelin throwing and applied for admission to the Sports Authority of India facility.
Fortunately, Neeraj caught the attention of renowned javelin thrower Jaiveer Choudhary, who chose to instruct him. He then proceeded to Jalandhar to train with other superior javelin throwers. Neeraj pleaded with his father to let him live in Panipat after getting his first medal in a district tournament.
He emerged into the public at the age of fifteen in 2010, he was the nation’s under-16 champion in javelin and in the following years, he received many accolades in the national category.
What are the achievements in his International career?
He secured his first international medal (silver medal) at the Youth Olympic Games qualification competition in Bangkok in 2014.
In 2016, he won a gold medal at the South Asian Games during the athletics final in Guwahati, he also secured gold medals in the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and hold the position of the first Indian athlete to achieve a world record by setting the record 86.43 m.
His journey was unstoppable besides these medals and achievements. In 2018, Chopra came into triumph during the year 2018 where he won a gold medal during the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Queensland in Australia, and the Asian Games held in Jakarta.
In the finals of the Tokyo Olympics, Chopra also became the holder of one gold medal making him India’s first gold medalist in track and field.
Therefore, by the end of 2022, Chopra set the highest, national record in the esteem by achieving an 89.94-meter throw. Though the injuries occurred in 2023, he was able to clinch the later World Athletics Championships and the Asian Games.
In 2024, he secured victories at various events, including the Federation Cup and Paavo Nurmi Games. He is tied up for the showdown of the Paris 2024 Olympics and is a proud holder of the gold medal. Already he has become an inspirational story for many other individuals.
He is competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics and representing India at the global level of Games. If he secured the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Chopra would be marked in the history of the Olympics.
What are his awards and recognition?
For his commendable and unforgettable contributions to sports, Neeraj Chopra has been awarded many awards. The notable awards are the Padma Shri Award, the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, and the Vishisht Seva Medal by the Indian Army.
He is the achiever of many medals, titles, and gold medals. That truly makes him the super sports star in today’s generation.
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