Ĭhopra finished fifth at the 2015 National Games in Kerala, and received a callback for the national-level training camp as a result, leaving Panchkula in 2016 to train at Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala. In 2015, Chopra broke the previous world record in the junior category, throwing 81.04 metres in the 2015 All India Inter-University Athletics meet this was his first throw of over 80 metres. He achieved his first throw of over 70 metres at the 2014 senior nationals. He won his first international medal in 2014, a silver at the Youth Olympics Qualification in Bangkok. In 2013, Chopra entered his first international competition, the World Youth Championships in Ukraine.
While initially at Tau Devi, Chopra typically achieved throws of around 55 metres, but soon increased his range, and in the National Junior Athletics Championships in Lucknow on 27 October 2012, won gold with a new national record throw of 68.40 metres. As Panchkula lacked a specialized javelin coach, he and fellow javelin thrower Parminder Singh downloaded videos of the Czech champion Jan Zelezny and attempted to copy his style. There, he trained under coach Naseem Ahmad, a running coach who made him train in long-distance running along with the javelin throw. The sports complex was then one of only two facilities in the state of Haryana with a synthetic runway. Īfter training under Choudhary for a year, the 13-year-old Chopra was admitted to the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula. Ĭhopra receiving the Arjuna Award from Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, on 25 September 2018. 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. Chopra learned the basics of the sport from Choudhary and a few more experienced athletes who had trained under a javelin coach in Jalandhar. Observing Chopra's ability to achieve a 40-metre throw without training and impressed by his drive, Choudhary became his first coach. Ĭhopra visited the nearby Panipat Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre, where javelin thrower Jaiveer Choudhary recognised his early talent in the winter of 2010. While playing at Shivaji stadium in Panipat, he saw some javelin throwers and began participating himself. Athletic career Early training Īfter local children teased him about his childhood obesity, Chopra's father enrolled him in a gymnasium at Madlauda he was later enrolled in a gym in Panipat.
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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 has two sisters and his family is largely involved in agriculture. 2.3 2016 Junior World Champion and Army inductionĬhopra was born in a Ror family to Satish Kumar and Saroj Devi on 24 December 1997, in Khandra village, Panipat district, Haryana.As of 2021, he is one of only two Indians to have won an individual Olympic gold medal (the other being Abhinav Bindra), as well as the youngest-ever Indian Olympic gold medalist in an individual event and the only one to have won gold in his Olympic debut. In his debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Chopra won the gold medal on 7 August 2021 with a throw of 87.58 m in his second attempt. He is also the first track and field athlete from India to win at the IAAF World U20 Championships, where in 2016 he achieved a world under-20 record throw of 86.48 m, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record.Ĭhopra 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. A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army, Chopra is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics. As of August 2021, he is ranked second internationally by World Athletics. Neeraj Chopra VSM (born 24 December 1997) is an Indian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw.