Neeraj Chopra

Biography

Neeraj Chopra (born 24 December 1997), is an Indian track and field athlete, who is the reigning Olympic champion, World Championships silver medallist and the Diamond League champion in the javelin throw.

He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's javelin throw. 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.

Chopra participated in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Asian Games, serving as the flag-bearer in the latter and winning gold medals in both.

As of 2021, he is one of only two Indians to have won an individual Olympic gold medal (the other being Abhinav Bindra), the youngest-ever Indian Olympic gold medalist in an individual event and the only individual to have won gold in his Olympic debut.

His silver medal at the 2022 World Championships made him the second Indian to win a medal at a World Athletics Championships. Chopra is the Indian record holder for the javelin throw.

Chopra was born in a Haryanvi Ror family in Khandra Panipat, Haryana. He has two sisters and his family is largely involved in agriculture. He did his schooling at BVN Public School.

He graduated from Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College in Chandigarh, and as of 2021, was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts from Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab.

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.