Olympic Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra made a Lt.Col of the Indian Army
Person in News
4 min read
The Indian Army has conferred the honourary rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 2020 Tokyo Olympic Gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. This was notified in “The Gazette of India”, an official document of the Government of India.
Neeraj Chopra and the Indian Army
Neeraj Chopra was commissioned as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Rajputana Rifles Regiment of the Indian Army in 2017, with the rank of 'Naib Subedar'. He was later promoted to Subedar in 2021. After his exploits in the Tokyo Olympics, he was promoted to Subedar Major in 2022.
- Now he has been promoted to the honourary rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
- He was commissioned in the Indian Army after his impressive performance in Javelin at the national and international levels.
- Neeraj Chopra was born in a farmer's family in Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana.
- In 2012, he became the under-16 national champion, and in 2014, he won his first international medal, a silver medal in the 2014 Bangkok Youth Olympics Qualification event.
- In 2016, he won the gold medal at the South Asian Games in Guwahati, Assam.
- After joining the Indian Army in 2017, Neeraj Chopra joined the ‘Mission Olympic Wing’, which trains athletes in 11 disciplines for various national and international events.
Neeraj Chopra’s exploits
- In 2018, Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia.
- In the same year, he won a gold medal in the Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
- His finest moment came in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, when he won gold in javellin. He is the second Indian, after Abhinav Bindra, to win an individual gold medal in the Olympics.
- Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in the Diamond League. He won the gold at the 2022 Diamond League Final in Brussels, Belgium..
- In the 2024 Paris Olympics, he won the silver medal.
Awards and Honours for Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra has been honoured with various awards in his sporting career.
Padam Shri - He was honoured with India's fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri, in 2022.
Param Vishisht Seva Medal—In 2022, he was honoured with the Indian Army’s highest peacetime medal, the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
Sports Award
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award—In 2021, he was honoured with India’s highest sports award, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
- Arjuna Award - He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2018.
