Neeraj Chopra Biography, From humble beginnings in Panipat to Tokyo 2020 gold medal

Sports Life

Chopra was enrolled to the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula, four hours from his home, after a year of training with his first instructor, Jaiveer, which was one of just two facilities in Haryana with a synthetic runway at the time. He began training in Panchkula under instructor Naseem Ahmad, who also required him to practise in long-distance running in addition to the javelin throw. Chopra was remembered by Ahmad as an attentive student who frequently sought advice from more experienced sportsmen and kept track of it in a notebook.

Chopra would throw at a maximum distance of 55 metres at first. He quickly expanded his range, winning the 2012 junior championships in Lucknow with a national record throw of 68.40 metres. He competed in his first international tournament the following year, the World Youth Championships in Ukraine. In 2014, he received his first international medal, a silver, in the Youth Olympic Qualification in Bangkok. At the 2014 senior nationals, he threw over 70 metres for the first time, followed by a world record throw of 81.04 metres in the junior category at the 2015 All India Inter-University Athletics Meet, which was his first throw of over 80 metres.

Chopra received a callback for the national-level training camp in 2015, leaving Panchkula in early 2016.

Chopra won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games with a throw of 84.23 metres, tying the Indian national record. He won gold and established a world junior record in the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Despite these achievements, he was unable to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics due to the deadline of July 11th.

With a throw of 85.23 metres, he earned another gold medal in the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships. He set a season-best performance of 86.47 metres in the men's javelin throw at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG), putting him among an elite group of Indian athletes who have won a gold medal on their Commonwealth Games debut, as well as becoming the first Indian to win the javelin throw at the CWG. With a throw of 87.43 metres in the Doha Diamond League in May 2018, he surpassed the national record for the second time.

Chopra made his Asian Games debut in August 2018, representing India at the 2018 Asian Games and serving as the Indian contingent's flag-bearer during the 2018 Asian Games Parade of Nations. On August 27, 2018, Neeraj created a new Indian national record by throwing a distance of 88.06 metres to win gold in the Men's javelin throw at the 2018 Asian Games. It was also India's first gold medal at the Asian Games in the javelin throw. Chopra was the sole track and field athlete nominated by the AFI for the country's top sports award, the Khel Ratna, that year, but was instead honoured with the Arjuna Award in September 2018.

Chopra had surgery in Mumbai on 2 May 2019, the day after the qualifying rounds for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics began, due to an elbow injury. Chopra travelled to South Africa in November 2019 for training under German biomechanics specialist Klaus Bartoneitz after a 16-month recovery period that included meditation and rehabilitation therapy at Patiala and the IIS Vijayanagar. Gary Calvert, Werner Daniels, and Uwe Hohn had already trained him. He returned to international competition in South Africa, winning the ACNW League Meeting in Potchefstroom with a winning throw of 87.86 metres, qualifying him for Tokyo.

Chopra smashed his own national record with a new throw of 88.07m on March 5, 2021, putting him in first place in the globe. He began his 2021 international season with a gold medal-winning throw of 83.18 metres in a competition in Lisbon, Portugal.

2020 Tokyo Olympics - Men's javelin throw - Athletics - Neeraj Chopra Wins Gold For India

Chopra made his Olympic debut in 2020, when he represented India in the Summer Olympics. With a throw of 86.65 metres on August 4, 2021, he qualified for the final of the men's javelin throw. On 7 August 2021, he won the gold medal in the event with a throw of 87.58 metres, becoming the first Indian Olympian to win a gold medal in athletics and the first Indian Olympic medalist in sports after independence. After Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the men's 10 m air rifle at the 2008 Summer Olympics on August 11, he became only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal.