Neeraj Chopra

Naib Subedar Neeraj Chopra (born 24 December 1997)[1] is an Indian track and field athlete and an Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in Indian Army, who competes in the javelin throw. He represented India at the 2018 Asian Games where he won a gold medal, setting the national record of 88.06 m, and at the 2018 Commonwealth Games where he also clinched the gold medal. He was the 2016 IAAF World U20 champion and set the world junior record of 86.48 m at the U20 championships. Chopra was selected as the flag-bearer at the opening ceremony for India at the 2018 Asian Games, which marked his first Asian Games appearance.[2][3] He also represents India at the IAAF Diamond League.

Naib Subedar
Neeraj Chopra

Personal information
Nationality	Indian
Born	24 December 1997[1] Panipat, Haryana, India
Education	DAV College, Chandigarh
Military career
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Army
Rank	Naib Subedar
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Javelin throw
Coached by	Uwe Hohn
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	88.06 (Asian Games 2018) NR
Medal record Men's Javelin throw Representing  India Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games – – – World Junior Championships 1 – – Asian Games 1 – – Commonwealth Games 1 – – Asian Championships 1 – – Total 4 0 0 Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Javelin throw Commonwealth Games 2018 Gold Coast Javelin throw Asian Championships 2017 Bhubaneshwar Javelin throw South Asian Games 2016 Guwahati/Shillong Javelin throw World Junior Championships 2016 Bydgoszcz Javelin throw
Updated on 27 August 2018.

After winning back-to-back CWG and Asian Games Gold medals in 2018, Chopra suffered an injury to his right elbow and had to undergo surgery in May 2019 causing him to miss the entire 2019 season.[4] After undergoing an extensive rehabilitation process, Chopra returned to competitive action in style by throwing 87.86m at the ACNE League meeting in Potchefstroom, South Africa in January 2020.[5] The throw, his second best throw ever, also saw him achieve the qualifying standard for Tokyo 2020 and qualify for his first ever Olympic Games.

Early life

Chopra is from Khandra village, Panipat district, Haryana.[6][7] He was educated at DAV College, Chandigarh.

Neeraj is a Junior Commissioned Officer of the Indian Army with the rank of Naib Subedar in 2016.[8][9]

Career

Neeraj won a gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games with a throw of 82.23 m, where he equalled the Indian national record.

He won a gold medal in 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He also set a world junior record. Despite these performances, he failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics as the cut off date was 11 July.[10]

Neeraj won another gold medal in Asian Athletic championships 2017 with a throw of 85.23 meters.[11]

Neeraj Chopra registered a season best effort of 86.47 meters in men's javelin throw at 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG). With that, Chopra not only joined an elite list of Indian athletes to win a gold medal on their Commonwealth Games debut, but also became the first Indian to triumph in Javelin Throw at CWG.[12]

In May 2018, he again broke the national record at the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 87.43 meters.[13]

He is currently being coached by German bio-mechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz.[14] Previously, he has been coached by Gary Calvert,[15] Werner Daniels[16] and Uwe Hohn.[17]

On 27 August 2018, Neeraj threw a distance of 88.06 m to win gold in the Men's javelin throw at the 2018 Asian Games and set a new Indian national record, bettering his own previous record.[18][19]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  India
2013	World Youth Championships	Donetsk, Ukraine	19th (q)	Javelin throw (700 g)	66.75 m
2015	Asian Championships	Wuhan, China	9th	Javelin throw	70.50 m
2016	2016 South Asian Games	Guwahati, India		Javelin throw	82.23 m
	Asian Junior Championships	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam		Javelin throw	77.60 m
	World U20 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	WJR	Javelin throw	86.48 m
2017	Asian Grand Prix Series	Jinhua, China		Javelin throw	82.11 m[20]
		Jiaxing, China			83.32 m[21]
		Taipei, Taiwan			79.90 m[22]
	Asian Championships	Bhubaneswar, India		Javelin throw	85.23 m
	IAAF Diamond League	Paris, France	7th (10 pts)	Javelin throw	84.67 m[23]
		Fontvieille, Monaco			78.92 m[24]
		Zurich, Switzerland			83.80 m[25]
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	15th (q)	Javelin throw	82.26 m
2018	Offenburg Speerwurf Meeting	Offenburg, Germany		Javelin throw	82.80 m[26]
	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Australia		Javelin throw	86.47 m
	IAAF Diamond League	Doha, Qatar	4th (17 pts)	Javelin throw	87.43 m[27]
		Eugene, Oregon, USA			80.81 m[28]
		Rabat, Morocco			83.32 m[29]
		Zurich, Switzerland			85.73 m[30]
	Sotteville Athletics Meet	Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France		Javelin throw	85.17 m[31]
	Savo Games	Lapinlahti, Finland		Javelin throw	85.69 m[32]
	Asian Games	Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia	NR	Javelin throw	88.06 m[33]
2020	Athletics Central North East	Potchefstroom, South Africa	Olympics quota	Javelin throw	87.86[34]

NR−National Records

WJR−World U20 Junior Records

q−Qualification round

References

1. "NEERAJ CHOPRA: Athlete profile". IAAF.
2. "Neeraj Chopra to be India's flag-bearer at Asian Games opening ceremony". The Indian Express. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
3. "Asian Games 2018: Javelin star Neeraj Chopra named India's flag-bearer for opening ceremony". Hindustan Times. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
4. "Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra Undergoes Elbow Surgery To Remove Bone Fragments". Retrieved 4 May 2020.
5. "Olympic Qualification: Neeraj Chopra's high class throw at a low-key meet". The Indian Express. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
6. "Celebrations at Neeraj's village". The Tribune. Tribune News Service. 27 August 2018. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
7. "'Zuckerberg and Katrina messaged me,' says junior javelin world champ Neeraj Chopra". 24 September 2016.
8. "World record holder Neeraj Chopra gets Army job, starts supporting farmer father". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
9. "Javelin hero Neeraj Chopra to join Indian Army". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
10. "Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra becomes first Indian athlete to win world championships". Firstpost. 24 July 2016.
11. "Asian Athletics Championship: Slumbering Neeraj Chopra wakes up in time". 10 July 2017.
12. "CWG 2018: Neeraj Chopra wins javelin gold with season-best throw". The Times of India. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
13. "IAAF Diamond League: Neeraj Chopra breaks his own javelin throw national record again, finishes 4th". Scroll.in. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
14. "Neeraj Chopra no longer training with high-profile coach Hohn". The Indian Express. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
15. DelhiJuly 28, India Today Web Desk New; July 28, 2018UPDATED:; Ist, 2018 19:26. "Neeraj Chopra's former coach dies, javelin star posts emotional message". India Today. Retrieved 4 May 2020.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
16. Scroll Staff. "Watch: On this day two years ago, Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra became a world junior record holder". Scroll.in. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
17. "Neeraj Chopra to train with Uwe Hohn in Finland". The Times of India. 2 May 2018.
18. "Asian Games, Live Updates, Day 9: India's Neeraj Chopra Clinches Gold Medal in Javelin Throw Final". News18. 27 August 2018.
19. "Asian Games, Live Updates, Day 9: India's Neeraj Chopra Closing in On Gold, Breaks National Record". News18. 27 August 2018.
20. "results" (PDF). indianathletics.in. 2017.
21. "results" (PDF). indianathletics.in. 2017.
22. "results" (PDF). indianathletics.in.
23. https://www.diamondleague.com/fileadmin/IDL_Default/files/documents/2017/Paris/Results.pdf
24. https://www.diamondleague.com/fileadmin/IDL_Default/files/documents/2017/Monaco/Results.pdf
25. https://www.diamondleague.com/fileadmin/IDL_Default/files/documents/2017/Zurich/Results.pdf
26. "Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra wins silver at Offenburg meet with a throw of 82.80m". Scroll.in. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
27. https://www.diamondleague.com/fileadmin/IDL_Default/files/documents/2018/Doha/Results.pdf
28. https://www.diamondleague.com/fileadmin/IDL_Default/files/documents/2018/Eugene/Eugene-2018-Full-Results.pdf
29. https://www.diamondleague.com/fileadmin/IDL_Default/files/documents/2018/Rabat/Results.pdf
30. https://www.diamondleague.com/fileadmin/IDL_Default/files/documents/2018/Zurich/Startlists.pdf
31. "Neeraj Chopra wins gold at Sotteville Athletics Meet in France". TOI. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
32. "Neeraj Chopra wins javelin gold at Savo Games". ESPN. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
33. "Athletics Men's Javelin Throw". Asian Games 2018 Official site. 27 August 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
34. "Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Tokyo Olympics in 1st competitive meet on injury return". India Today. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

External links

• Neeraj Chopra at World Athletics