Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is ranked as Junior Commissioned Officers (Subedar) in the Indian Army. He 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 IAAF World U20 Championship whereas in 2016 he achieved a world U20 record throw of 86.48 m, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record. As of August 2021, he is ranked second internationally by World Athletics. 

What is Neeraj Chopra Famous For?

• Being an Indian track and field athlete.

Source: @tribuneindia

Awards 

• Won the 2018 Arjuna Award. 
• Won the 2020 Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM).
• Won the 2021 Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.  

Where is Neeraj Chopra From?

Neeraj Chopra was born on 24 December 1997. His birthplace is Khandra, Haryana, India. He was born to his father, Satish Kumar Chopra, and his mother, Saroj Devi where he grew up with his sisters, Sangeeta and Sarita. He graduated from Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College in Chandigarh, and as of 2021, is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts from Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab. He holds Indian nationality. He belongs to the Ror Maratha ethnicity. His religion is Hinduism. His horoscope sign is Capricorn. 

Source: Instagram

Neeraj Chopra Career

• His interest in the javelin was due to watching some javelin throwers at the Shivaji Stadium in Panipat and was attracted to the game just after seeing them. 
• He then visited the nearby Panipat Sports Authority of India (SAI) center, where javelin thrower Jaiveer Choudhary recognized his early talent in the winter of 2010. He learned the basics of the sport from Choudhary and a few more experienced athletes who had trained under a javelin coach in Jalandhar.
• He soon won his first medal, a bronze in the district championships, and then persuaded his family to allow him to live in Panipat while developing his abilities.
• He dominated the national scene at the youth level and won multiple international accolades. He shot to fame after winning the gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. 
• His winning throw of 86.48m at Poland still stands as the under-20 javelin throw record and made him the first Indian track and field athlete to become a world champion at any level and hold a world record.
• Although his U20 record surpassed that of defending Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott, he failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics as the cut-off date had been 11 July, the week before the U20 championships. 
• With his impressive performances at the South Asian Games, the Indian Army offered him a direct appointment as a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Rajputana Rifles with the rank of Naib Subedar, a rank typically not immediately granted to athletes, who are usually recruited as non-commissioned officers (NCO).

Source: Instagram

• He won gold in the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships with a throw of 85.23 meters. He then went to London in August for the World Championships but was eliminated before reaching the finals.
• On 24 August, he suffered a significant groin injury in the finals of the Zurich Diamond League, sustaining the injury during his third attempted throw, in which he attained a distance of 83.39 meters; owing to the injury, he fouled his fourth attempt and skipped his last two allowed attempts. His first and best throw of 83.80 meters gave him a seventh-place finish. As a result, he withdrew from the competition for the remainder of 2017.
• After recovering from his injury, which he partly attributed to a heavy competition schedule and the lack of a proper diet and rest, Chopra spent a month at the Joint Services Wing sports institute in Vijayanagar.
• In the men’s javelin throw at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he registered a season-best effort of 86.47 meters, becoming the first Indian to win the javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games. In May 2018, he again broke the national record at the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 87.43 meters.
• In August 2018, he made his debut at the Asian Games representing India and was also the flag-bearer for the Indian contingent during the 2018 Asian games Parade of Nations. 
• On 27 August 2018, he threw a distance of 88.06 m to win gold in the Men’s javelin throw at the 2018 Asian games and bettered his own Indian national record. It was also India's first gold medal in the javelin throw at the Asian Games.
• That year, he was the only track and field athlete to be recommended by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the country's highest sports award, the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna but was awarded the Arjuna Award in September 2018. He was further rewarded by the army with an out-of-turn promotion to subedar in November.

Source: Instagram

• He missed the 2019 World Championships in Doha due to an elbow injury, which required surgery, and was sidelined for 16 months. The Indian, however, bounced back immediately after his return to qualify for Tokyo 2020 at a meet in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in January 2020. 
• On 4 August 2021, he made his debut at the Olympics, representing India in the Japan national Stadium. He topped his qualifying group for entry to the final with a throw of 86.65 meters.
• On 7 August 2021, he won the gold medal in the final 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. 
• His medal gave India a final total of seven medals at the Games, 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.
• He 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. 

Source: Instagram

Neeraj Chopra Girlfriend

Looking at his personal life, he is not married. He is focusing on his professional career as a track and field athlete. He might be dating a beautiful girl at present or might be single. Any updates on his love life will be updated here.

Neeraj Chopra Height and Weight

Neeraj Chopra stands at a height of 1.82m i.e. 6 feet and 0 inches tall. He has a bodyweight of 86kg. He has an athletic body build. His eye color and hair color are black. His sexual orientation is straight.

Neeraj Chopra Net Worth and Salary

Neeraj Chopra earns from his professional career as a track and field athlete. His income is from contracts, salaries, bonuses, and endorsements. As of 2021, his estimated net worth is Rs. 30 crores (INR) and his salary is Rs.7 crore (INR).