Neeraj Chopra is the first field athlete from India to win a gold medal in the Olympics. He created history by winning the gold medal in javelin throw in Tokyo Olympics 2020. Since then, he has been ruling the world in this sport. Neeraj has also been a world champion in javelin throw and has made many records in this sport so far. Currently, Neeraj Chopra is working hard to win the gold medal once again in Paris Olympics 2024. Let us know how he has traveled so far and what wonders he has done in javelin throw.

Obesity pushed me towards sports

Before winning the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, very few people knew Neeraj Chopra, but with this success he became a poster boy.

But do you know, for Neeraj, who comes from Khandra village in Panipat district of Haryana, coming into sports was not a hobby but a compulsion. His mother Saroj Devi is a housewife and father Satish Kumar is a farmer. Due to being overweight in childhood, his parents forced him to go into sports.

Born in 1997, Neeraj started playing at the age of 13. He used to play to reduce his weight and gain confidence. During this time, India's javelin thrower Jaiveer Chaudhary saw him playing at Shivaji Stadium in Panipat.

He introduced Neeraj to this sport and helped him become a world champion. After a year, he started training under the supervision of coach Naseem Ahmed at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula.

He started doing wonders since childhood

Neeraj Chopra may have won the gold medal at the age of 22, but he had shown glimpses of becoming a champion at a young age. In 2012, at the age of 15, Neeraj became the Under-16 National Champion. In this event, he also created a new national record by throwing 68.60 meters. Just two years later, he won his first international silver medal in the Youth Olympic Qualification.

At the same time, in 2015, at the age of 18, he won his first senior national championship by throwing 77.33 meters in the inter-state event held in Chennai.

Luck changed from 2016, Army gave training

The year 2016 proved to be a turning point for Neeraj Chopra. He won the gold medal in the National Open Championship held in Kolkata this year. Soon after this, he won another gold by throwing 82.23 meters in the South Asian Games held in Guwahati. The Indian Army was very happy to see Neeraj's national and international performance.

Therefore, the Army decided to make him a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in 2017. The Indian Army directly gave him the rank of Naib Subedar in Rajputana Rifles.

After joining the army, Neeraj Chopra was selected for training under 'Mission Olympics Wing'. Let us tell you that 'Mission Olympics Wing' is an initiative of the Indian Army, under which talent is identified and trained for national and international competitions in 11 sports.

Won many medals after training in the army

After training under the Indian Army's 'Mission Olympics Wing', Neeraj won a string of medals. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he threw 86.47 meters, which was the best throw of that season. In the same year, he broke his own record by throwing 87.43 meters in the Doha Diamond League. After this, he won the gold medal in the Asian Games with 88.06 meters. However, after this he got injured and could not participate anywhere for 8 months.

History made in Olympics

Neeraj Chopra was battling an injury, and the Tokyo Olympics 2020 was around the corner. His participation in this event was in danger. However, the coronavirus struck this year. This gave him more time to recover. After this, he created history by winning a gold medal in Tokyo in 2021. In this event, he won this medal by throwing a throw of 87.58 meters, which was the best throw of his career so far.

The glory remained intact after the Olympics

Neeraj's dominance continued even after the Olympics. He won the silver medal in the World Athletics Championships 2022 held in Oregon. The very next year, he created history by winning the gold medal in the same tournament held in Budapest. With this, he became the first Indian athlete to become the world champion in javelin throw. He won another gold medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023.

Neeraj Chopra's Awards

In view of Neeraj Chopra's excellent performance in javelin throw, the Government of India honored him with the Arjuna Award in 2018. At the same time, the Army awarded him the Vishisht Seva Medal in sports in 2020. Apart from this, he has been awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021 and the Padma Shri Award in 2022.