Aug 28, 2023
By: Sourabh JainNeeraj Chopra has made history after winning a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, becoming India’s first-ever World Athletics Championships gold medallist.
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Neeraj Chopra hails from Khandara village near Panipat, Haryana. His father, Satish Kumar is a farmer and his mother Saroj Devi is a homemaker.
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Chopra’s family pressured him to lose weight as he was a chubby kid at age 11. He was sent by his family to Panipat's Shivaji Stadium to exercise and here’s where he fell in love with javelin throw as a sport.
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Chopra was admitted to the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panipat for training at the age of 13. Here, he trained for long-distance running and javelin throw and achieved a target of 55 metres.
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Chopra’s first win was at the Junior Nationals in Lucknow where he became an under-16 national champion by achieving a throw of 68.4 metres and setting a new record on October 27, 2012.
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Chopra made his international debut at the World Youth Championships held in Ukraine in 2013. However, his first medal was a silver at the Youth Olympics Qualification held in Bangkok in 2014.
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Chopra won his first gold medal at the World U-20 Championships in 2016 with a throw of 86.48 metres. He also set a new under-20 world record.
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Chopra then went on to win gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in 2018.
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The highlight of Chopra’s career so far has been his Olympics gold medal at Tokyo in 2021, making him only the second individual gold medallist for India after Abhinav Bindra.
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Chopra won the prestigious Diamond League trophy in September 2022 with a throw of 88.44 metres.
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Chopra has become one of the most popular athletes in the country since his Olympics win. He emerged as one of the most-searched Indian personalities online and ranked above the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in Google searches in India.
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The fame has also helped Chopra score several brand sponsorships from companies like Nike, Gatorade, iQOO, P&G, CRED, Tata AIA Life Insurance and more.
Credit: BCCL