Neeraj Chopra – Indian Javelin Thrower

Chopra rose to fame after his triumph in the track and field event three years ago, making him the first person in India to achieve this Olympics milestone. He is an ideal and now it will become a reality when he wins his second medal in Paris. And after such a lifetime rewriting of history, he will continue to do so. 

Chopra Neeraj’s pinnacle of success and fame even trickles down into his birth village of Khandra, where many locals owe their lives to his popularity. His father, Satish Kumar, was supportive of his son’s dreams, and took measures to ensure he stayed on the right path.

Earlier in Life

Chopra Neeraj is a javelin thrower hailing from a very unknown village in India who is recognized all over the globe. In times of hardship, his story serves as an eternal beacon of hope for emerging athletes and strangers alike. He embodies resilience and hard work, and the recognition he has received has brought javelin throw further into the limelight in India.

Chopra Neeraj was born into a low income family in the village of khandra in Panipat of the Indian state of Haryana. He was raised in a joint family where his mother Saroj Devi was a housewife and father Satish Kumar was a farmer. He is the eldest of 3 children in his agrarian family.

From a young age, Neeraj had a weight issue which ballooned to 90 kgs at 11 years of age. His family made an effort to support him by signing up for a gym in their village and an emphasis in athletics. Because of Jaiveer Choudhary – an former javelin thrower, he soon began to earn medals in district championships. 

With hard work and consistency, Neeraj was able to become a more competent athlete, as such against national athletes in various competitions. Then in 2015 he became a member of the national team, that fact changed his career, turning into key elements of a professional athlete, it provided him with quality food, effective workouts, and eligibility to train with the best javelin throwers in India. On international platforms Neeraj has outcourse clinched many honors including the Arjuna Award in 2018, the Vishisted Seva Medal (VSM) in 2020 and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021- India’s supreme sporting award.

World Champion.

As Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem stood together for a photograph, it was a demonstration that Athletics and Sportsmanship ever beg for a celebration, and a celebration un-confined by Politics. The sportsmen even embraced and both the nations were composite as they rejoiced in the victory. Leaders and fans of both nations also took to social media to appreciate the winners. It only goes to show that we have become a cross country of sorts, at least in Chopra’s case, over time.

Niraj Chopra did not go through any major dramatic scheme that would put him on this journey of becoming a World Champion. He was a fat boy raised on a rice and wheat farming family who spent most of his day goofing around with sticks on the farm. His uncle advised him to go out to a local stadium for some active sport, and it was there that Chopra first laid his eyes on a javelin.

He currently ranks first in the world in that specialty and holds the titles of Padma Shri, Vishisht Seva medalist, and Arjuna awardee. He is very popular within Indian society as well as worldwide, but for Chopra, fame is not an obstacle on the way to his goal, which is to break through the mark of 90 meters. Such a feat would elevate him to a select cadre of 24 men who have bettered that throwing distance. He has been backed by Zelezny to do so for, as he pointed out, it is his technique and elasticity that matters more than his height.

Winning a gold medal in the Olympic games.

Neeraj Chopra was the first Indian male javelin thrower to win Olympic gold and his success is an inspiration of dedication and achievement. Due to his achievements he has become a source of inspiration for budding sportsmen to make sports their career. For Chopra, the task of managing study with sports activities was difficult but passion and willpower made him successful.

Chopra hails for a small village in Panipat district of Haryana which is Khandra. He is the oldest of three children. While his mother Saroj Devi is a homemaker, his father Satish Kumar is a farmer. Family support has helped him achieve great success in his life. Since he is employed by the Indian Army, his salary has created some room for his training and competitions.

He was certainly embarrassed of his overweight condition in childhood, but that did not dissuade Chopra from pursuing the sport. It took a lot of time but eventually, he was able to find his way into Shivaji Stadium, Gurgaon. There he met Choudhary Jaiveer who became his first coach and trained him with earnest efforts.

Personal Life

Neeraj Chopra was born in Khandra Village, Panipat, Haryana on 24th December 1997. He comes from a family where his father Satish Kumar is a poor farmer and mother Saroj Devi is a housewife. Neeraj has received substantial backing from his family in all his attempts. Initially he did his schooling from his native place and then went to Chandigarh for his graduation from DAV College.

From the start of his career as an athlete, he had to work really hard. The first few months were quite difficult as he tried to cope with his academics and sports but as time passed he was able to manage. He then went on to grab bronze medals at various national and international events. His career highlight, however, was when he first participated in the Summer Olympics held in Tokyo in 2020 where he brought home a gold medal which was a proud moment for him.

Neeraj has become an icon for the young generation of this country and is the perfect example of hard work. He has also opened up many avenues for earlier unsung sports in India. He has received numerous awards and honors including Arjuna Award and Vishisht Seva Medal from Indian Army. In 2022, he was presented with the Padma Shri – the fourth highest civilian award. This broadens the perspective of the athletes and encourages them into javelin as well as other track and field events. Neeraj’s success has also enabled the government and other private agencies to work on the sports infrastructure and better the available scopes for the athletes.