Neeraj Chopra celebrates after winning World Athletics Championships gold© Twitter
It was a special occasion for Neeraj Chopra as he became the first Indian athlete in history to win a World Athletics Championships gold medal on Sunday night. The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist added a World Championship gold to his name with an attempt of 88.17m in the men’s javelin final. He faced tough challenge from Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who threw 87.82m to finish second. However, Neeraj was able to top the table in his second attempt and maintain his lead in the event.
A look at Neeraj Chopra’s massive achievements throughout his career –
An Olympic gold
Neeraj is the only Indian to win a gold medal in the track and field event at the Olympics in 2021. Overall, he is the second player from the nation following now-retired sport shooter Abhinav Bindra to win an individual gold medal at the quadrennial event.
The top honour in Commonwealth Games
Neeraj is the first Indian javelin thrower to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. He claimed the top honour at Gold Coast in 2018. Overall, he became the fourth Indian to win an athletics title at the Games after Milkha Singh (1958), Krishna Poonia (2010) and Vikas Gowda (2014).
Asian Games gold
Neeraj is the first Indian javelin thrower to win an Asian Games gold medal. He shattered his own national record in 2018 to achieve the top finish on the podium.
Two Diamond League titles
The star Indian javelin thrower won the Lausanne leg in August 2022 for his maiden Diamond League title. He claimed his second title at the event this year at the same venue.
Apart from these, Neeraj also has also won gold medals in the Asian Championships (2017), the World U20 Championships (2016) and the South Asian Games (2016).
In the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Neeraj claimed a silver medal.
Awards won by Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra was conferred with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award — highest sporting honour of India — in 2021. He was felicitated with the Arjuna Award in 2018. The star Indian javelin thrower received the Padma Shri — fourth highest civilian honour in India — in 2022.
Chopra was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (a military award of India) and Vishisht Seva Medal (a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces) in the years 2022 and 2020, respectively.
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