All About Neeraj Chopra, The First Indian Athlete To Win Gold Medal In Olympics!

Blog: All About Neeraj Chopra, The First Indian Athlete To Win Gold Medal In Olympics!

Born in a small village of the Panipat district of Haryana, Neeraj Chopra was never aware of the moment when the national anthem of India will be played at the Olympics because of me. As it has been a ritual in the Olympics that the national anthem of the gold-winning nation is played at the time of medal distribution. And Neeraj Chopra has just followed the rituals by winning the Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Well, it will be good if we call Subedar Neeraj Chopra instead of just Neeraj Chopra.

Tokyo Olympic: History Created!! Neeraj Chopra Bags India’s First-Ever Gold In Athletics In Olympics!!

Early Life

Subedar Neeraj Chopra was born on 24th December 1997 in Khandera village which is situated in the Panipat district of Haryana. After taking early education in the same village, Neeraj went to DAV College of Chandigarh to complete his higher education. From childhood, Neeraj was active in sports and cultural activities.

In 2016, he made his family proud by getting selected in the Indian Army as a junior commissioned officer with the rank of Naib Subedar. Thus, I mentioned in the beginning Subedar. The 23-year-old athlete is currently serving the Indian Army. 

Career

Neeraj is the only second individual Indian to win a gold medal for India in the Olympics in Javelin’s throw. Abhinav Bindra was the first Indian to grab a gold medal in an individual category. He won gold in shooting during the Beijing Olympics of 2008. But it is not the only gold medal for the athlete. 

Javelin thrower Neeraj won his first gold medal at the 2016 South Asian games where his threw was 84.23 m. He also set the national record with this. The athlete continued his golden journey. He won a gold medal in the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He also set a world junior record. Despite these performances, he failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics as the cut-off date was 11 July.

At the Asian Athletic championship of 2017, Neeraj grabbed another gold with the throw of 85.23 m. Let me tell you a great fact, Neeraj Chopra is among the few elite players to win a gold medal at the commonwealth debut. The Subedar won the gold medal in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth games. With that, he was also the first Indian javelin thrower to win a medal for India in this category. In May 2018, he again broke the national record at the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 87.43 meters.

Neeraj has been awarded Arjuna Award in 2018 for his historical performance at the Commonwealth games. In August of 2018, Neeraj attempted a throw of 88.06 m in the 2018 Asian games to win a gold medal and to set a new national record. 

On 4 August 2021, he qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ Final in Men’s javelin throw. He won the gold medal for Men’s Javelin throw on 7th August 2021 with a throw of 87.58m. He is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in athletics after independence.

Other Recognitions

The Government Of Haryana has announced to give Rs 6 crore to Neeraj Chopra after winning the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. It doesn’t end here. The government of India has announced a prize of 75 lakh to be given to Chopra for his golden historical performance. 

The athlete has been awarded Vishisth Seva Medal on republic day 2020. 

Neeraj Chopra has now become an inspiration for lakhs of Indians. He has shown that India can win gold in athletics. Legend Milkha Singh once said that he wants an Indian to win gold in Athletics. Though He is not here to see Neeraj’s gold but he will be very happy in heaven.