Paris Olympics: Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra (PTI)
Neeraj Chopa Profile Athletics Paris Olympics 2024 Men’s Javelin Throw
Neeraj Chopra, India’s golden boy, will again look to repeat his historic feat at the Paris Olympics 2024. He won gold in the Men’s men’s javelin throw event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. His first effort of 87.58m throw was enough to clinch the yellow metal.
Apart from being a gold medallist at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, the 26-year-old has also a title winner at the World Athletics Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships and Diamond League.
Neeraj was born on December 24, 1997 to a family of farmers from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana. Being overweight, Neeraj was nudged towards sports and took up javelin throw at Panipat’s Shivaji Stadium.
Originally, Chopra enlisted into the Indian Army as a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and Naib Subedar in 2016 under one of the Army’s oldest rifle regiments and his parent unit – 4 Rajputana Rifles.
Neeraj was honoured with the Arjuna Award 2018, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021 and received the Padma Shri in 2022.
Neeraj has been struggling with injuries in recent month and has limited his competition schedule but keep a steadfast belief that he will break his personal target of the 90m mark sooner rather than later.
The Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) spent Rs 5.72 crore on Neeraj for hiring current foreign coach Dr Klaus Bartonietz, assistance towards pre-Olympic camp in Europe, and competition in Europe, USA and South Africa.
Paris Olympics 2024: All Indian Athletes Who Have Qualifies for Summer Games | Full Schedule
Age – 26
Sports/Discipline – Javelin Throw
Working Ranking – 2
First Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020
Major Achievements
- Arjuna Award in 2018
- Vishisht Seva Medal in 2020
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021 Param
- Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022
- Padma Shri in 2022
- South Asian Games Gold in 2016
- World U-20 Championships Gold in 2016
- Asian Championships Gold in 2017
- Commonwealth Games Gold in 2018
- Olympics Gold in 2021
- Diamond League Trophy in 2022
- Asian Games Gold in 2021 and 2023
- World Championships Gold in 2023
Paris Olympics Qualification
Neeraj qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the World Championships with a gold medal.
Recent Performances
After the high of Tokyo 2020 Gold, Neeraj took a break from competition and made his return in June 2022 at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. He threw a personal best of 89.30m to register a new national record and finish second. At the Stockholm Diamond League, he broke his own national record with a throw of 89.94m for a second-place finish.
In July of the same year, Neeraj made history by becoming India’s second medal at the World Athletics Championships as he finished second, to clinch silver at the Oregon World Championships with a throw of 88.13m.
In August, he won the Lausanne Diamond League with a throw of 89.09m and qualified for the Zurich Final., which he won in September with a throw of 88.44m. He became the first to qualify for the World Championships.
Neeraj finished first in the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 88.67m in May 2023 as later in the month, he moved to the top of the world ranking.
In August 2023, Neeraj won gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championships with a throw of 88.17m and later in October, he clinched gold at the 2022 Asian Games.
Event Date and Time
Neeraj will take the field on 6 August for the men’s javelin throw qualification, with the final schedule for 8 August.
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