What you need to know about Neeraj Chopra, India’s Golden Boy

Neeraj Chopra won a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Chopra’s victory comes after he won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

Chopra’s Olympics performance ensured that India made its best-ever medal haul at
an Olympic edition with the country claiming a total of seven medals.

Also Read | Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra talks about his diet and love for gol gappas

Neeraj Chopra’s gold was only the second gold won by an Indian in an
individual Olympic event. Thus, the 23-year-old javelin thrower from a farming
family in Haryana has emerged as the next superstar sportsman of India.

Also Read | Neeraj Chopra dedicates historic Olympic gold to  Milkha Singh

Here’s a brief overview of the life India’s rising superstar.

• Neeraj Chopra, 23, hails from Panipat in Haryana. His father is a farmer.
  Chopra is a graduate of DAV College, Chandigarh. Following his Olympic win, the
  Haryana state government announced that it would honour the athlete with a cash
  prize of Rs 6 crore.  

• 23-year-old Chopra took up javelin throwing in 2011 after he saw people
  practice throwing javelin in Haryana, according to Chopra’s bio on the Olympics
  website.

• Chopra is a Subedar with the 4 Rajputana Rifles in the Indian Army. After
  his gold medal win, Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane congratulated
  Subedar Neeraj Chopra for winning India’s first-ever gold medal in javelin.

• Neeraj Chopra is
  the first athlete to have won gold at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and
  the Olympics.

• He became the
  first Indian athlete to win a junior world title in athletics when he won a
  gold medal in javelin throw at the World Junior Championships in Poland in
  2016.

• Neeraj Chopra won
  the first gold medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics. He is also the first
  Indian to win a gold medal in athletics. Chopra’s medal is also India’s second
  individual gold medal in Olympic history after Abhinav Bindra won gold in
  shooting at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
• Neeraj Chopra won silver at the World Athletics Championships on July 24, 2022.