Neeraj Chopra Net-Worth, Biography, Age

Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete who was born in Panipat, Haryana, on December 24, 1997. He gained notoriety by winning the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and cemented his status as a top athlete by winning the event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which were rescheduled from 2021 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After marksman Abhinav Bindra (2008), Chopra became the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal. She was the first Indian track and field athlete to earn an Olympic gold medal. At the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest, he won the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event. The reigning champion had to make do with his second-best throw of the career, 89.45 meters (293.47 feet) had to settle for a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Neeraj Chopra Early life

Neeraj Chopra is the oldest of three siblings, having been born in Khandra village, in the Panipat district of the state of Haryana, to farmers Satish Kumar and Saroj Devi. He was raised in a 19-member extended household with three uncles. Chopra’s family was concerned about his weight when he was a teenager and urged him to start going to the gym in Panipat on a daily basis. Chopra used to spend time at the adjacent Shivaji Stadium watching young athletes his own age hurl the javelin after training sessions. Chopra became friends with sportsmen on the track and had a natural knack for the sport. Even though no one in their village was familiar with the javelin, Chopra’s family supported him when they heard about his enthusiasm in it. After training for a year at Shivaji Stadium, he moved to Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula, Haryana state, training with coach Naseem Ahmad.

Achievements

By 2012, Chopra had become the under-16 national javelin champion. He continued to win more medals at the national level in the ensuing years. 2014 saw him win a silver medal in the Youth Olympic Games qualification tournament held in Bangkok, his first international medal. Gold medals were earned by Chopra in 2016 in the Grand Prix in Lokeren, Belgium; the South Asian Games in Guwahati, Assam state, India; and the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland (the IAAF was renamed as World Athletics in 2019). His 86.48-meter (283.73-foot) throw in the Bydgoszcz final set an under-20 record. At the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha state, India, Chopra took first position.

Chopra received an offer to join the Indian Army as a junior commission officer when he was just 19 years old. Chopra told the Press Trust of India, “We are farmers, nobody in the family works for the government, and my family has been supporting me with difficulty.” “However, I feel a little relieved that I can now financially support my family in addition to pursuing my training.” Chopra was chosen for the army’s Mission Olympics Wing program and kept up her competition training. Some of Chopra’s most notable accomplishments are included in the table below.

Source: World Athletics website.

Speaking about his Tokyo Olympic win to Vogue India, Chopra said: “Now everyone in India knows what a javelin is. I’m most happy about that.”

Chopra took home gold medals from the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, in 2018. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Chopra was viewed as a dark horse amongst a group of formidable rivals. He did, however, win the gold medal in the final with a great throw of 87.58 meters (287.34 ft), making him India’s first track and field gold medallist and the country’s second individual Olympic gold medalist. He made a solid throw of 86.65 meters in the qualifying round. The first was Abhinav Bindra during the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10-meter air rifle competition. Chopra remarked, “It feels unbelievable,” following his gold medal victory at the Olympics. 

At the Stockholm Diamond League 2022 competition, Chopra threw a record-breaking 89.94 meters (295.08 feet)—also his best effort to yet. This set the national record. He battled injuries in 2023, but he still managed to win two gold medals: one in Budapest at the World Athletics Championships and another in Hangzhou, China, in the Asian Games. In May 2024, Chopra won a gold medal at the Federation Cup 2024 in Bhubaneshwar, India, after placing second in the Doha Diamond League. With a throw of 85.97 meters in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland in June, Chopra won another gold medal. Under the guidance of biomechanics specialist and coach Klaus Bartonietz, who served as his coach during the Tokyo Olympics, Chopra made it to the javelin final at the 2024 Paris Olympics with an impressive throw of 89.34 meters but had to settle for silver in the final as his career’s second-best throw of 89.45 meters (293.47 feet) fell short of Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem’s record-breaking throw of 92.97 meters (305.01 feet).

International beginning (2013-2016)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swg3Dzee61U

With a best throw of 66.75 meters, Chopra placed 19th overall in the World Youth Championships, his first international competition, held in Donetsk, Ukraine in 2013. At the Youth Olympics Qualification in Bangkok in 2014, he took home his first international medal—a silver. In the 2014 Senior Nationals, he threw beyond 70 meters (230 feet) for the first time. When he competed in the 2015 All India Inter-University Athletics meet, he shattered the junior world record. It was his first throw of more than 80 meters (260 feet), measuring 81.04 meters (265.9 feet). At the Kerala 2015 National Games, Chopra came in fifth place. Additionally, he competed in the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships, placing ninth with a best throw of 70.50M

His performance earned him a call-up to the national training camp held at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala at the beginning of 2016. He claimed that this was a turning moment in his career since he was able to obtain greater instruction than he could have at Panchkula, as well as better food and facilities. His confidence was also raised by working with javelin throwers at the national level. Bronze medallist Kashinath Naik from the 2010 Commonwealth Games was given the role of coach.

Read More – NAILA GREWAL NET WORTH, BIOGRAPHY 

Asian and Commonwealth champion (2017-2020)

With a best throw of 82.26 meters (269.9 feet), Chopra placed 15th overall at the 2017 World Championships held in August. He was hurt in the groin during the Zürich Weltklasse on August 24. Before he fouled his fourth attempt and missed the final two, he suffered the injury during his third effort of 83.39 meters (273.6 feet). He placed sixth with his first and best throw of 83.80 m (274.9 ft). He blamed his injury on having a busy schedule, not eating right, and not getting enough sleep. He was sidelined from competition for the duration of 2017 due to his injury. He spent one month at the Joint Services Wing sports institute in Vijayanagar recovering. November 2017 saw him, he left for Offenburg in Germany to train with Werner Daniels, whom he had briefly worked with before the 2017 World Championships as his former coach Calvert had left India in May due to disputes over his contract. During his stay there, he focused on strength training and honed his technique with adjustments to his stance to keep his hand raised higher during throws to improve his range.

Chopra won the gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games with a season-best performance of 86.47 m (283.7 ft). At the Commonwealth Games, he became the first Indian to win the javelin throw. With a throw of 87.43 meters (286.8 feet) at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in May 2018, he broke his own national record. He participated in the Asian Games for the first time in August of that year, carrying the Indian flag during the Parade of Nations. He broke his own Indian national record and won the gold medal in the javelin throw on August 27, marking India’s first-ever gold medal in the sport at the Asian Games. His throw measured 88.06 meters (288.9 feet).

Olympic, World and Diamond League champion (2021-2023)

At the Olympics, Chopra debuted on August 4, 2021. With a throw of 86.65 meters (284.3 feet), he won his qualifying group at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, earning him a spot in the final by default. In the August 7 final, he threw 87.58 meters (287.3 feet) on his second try, winning the gold medal. He became the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics and the first Indian Olympian in the sport after independence. In addition, he became the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in the javelin throw and the second Indian, after Abhinav Bindra, to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics. In addition, he became the youngest Indian ever Olympic gold medalist in an individual event and the only individual to have won gold on his Olympic debut. His medal helped India register is best ever finish in the Olympic Games. He dedicated his win to sprinters Milkha Singh and P. T. Usha, both former Olympians from India. As a result of his performance, he reached the world number two ranking in the men’s javelin throw.[66] In June 2022 at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, he placed second with a new personal best of 89.30 m (293.0 ft) and registered another new national record.

Paris Olympics (2024–present)

Chopra met the Olympic Qualifying Standard (OQS) in the Asian Games, which allowed her to meet the qualifying quota for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. With a throw of 88.36 meters, Chopra finished second in the 2024 Doha Diamond League on May 10. He was only 2 centimeters short of Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who won the event with a throw of 88.38 meters. In his first tournament in India after winning the Olympics, Chopra competed on May 15 and took home the gold at the Federation Cup 2024 with a best throw of 82.27 meters. Chopra competed in the Paavo Nurmi Games prior to the Olympics in Paris, where on June 18 he won gold with a throw of 85.97 meters.

He topped the chart in the men’s javelin throw qualification in Paris, with a season-best throw of 89.34 m (293.1 ft) in his first throw. This score was much over the direct qualification level, which was set at 84 m (276 ft). In the final, on his second try, he recorded his lone valid throw of 89.45 meters (293.5 feet). With an Olympic record throw of 92.97 meters (305.0 feet), Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the gold, yet the mark was only good enough for a silver medal. He became the first Indian individual multiple medallist to win both gold and silver in the 2020 Olympics when he won the gold medal.