Neeraj Chopra Biography (Age, Wife, Net Worth, Height)

Subedar Major Neeraj Chopra, an Indian track and field athlete, was born on December 24, 1997, in khandra, India. He competes in javelin throws. He won the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, making him the first Asian athlete to accomplish so. He is also the first Asian to win gold in the javelin at the World Athletics Championships, having done it in 2023.

Neeraj Chopra Biography

Personal Information About Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Chopra was born in Khandra village, Panipat district, to a Haryanvi Ror farming family. He began his education at Panipat’s BVN Public School. After several locals ridiculed him about his weight, he enrolled in a gym in Panipat. While training, he noticed a few javelin throwers practicing at the nearby Shivaji stadium and decided to take up the sport. Later, he traveled to Chandigarh to continue his javelin practice and graduated from Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College.

In 2016, the Indian Army recognized Neeraj Chopra as an extraordinary athlete and recruited him straight as a Junior Commissioned Officer with the rank of Naib Subedar, where he continued his javelin training. Around 2021, Neeraj enrolled at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab. He has two sisters.

Neeraj Chopra Career

Early career (2010-2012)

In the winter of 2010, Neeraj tested himself at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facility in Panipat. Javelin thrower Jaiveer Singh began training him after noticing his ability to throw 40 meters (130 feet) without any official training. He studied the fundamentals of the sport from Singh and practiced alongside other sportsmen in Jalandhar. He finished third in the district championships and convinced his family to let him train at the SAI center in Panipat to improve his skills.

After a year of training with Choudhary, the 13-year-old Neeraj Chopra proceeded to the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula, one of Haryana’s only two facilities with a synthetic runway. The facility needed a specialized javelin coach, he trained with Naseem Ahmad, a running coach.

During this time, he and another javelin thrower Parminder Singh watched recordings of Jan Zelezny in an attempt to emulate his style. Initially, he achieved throws of roughly 55 m (180 ft), but his range gradually expanded, and he won the gold medal at the National Junior Athletics Championships in Lucknow on October 27, 2012, with a new junior national record throw of 68.40 m (224.4 ft).

International (2013-2016)

In 2013, Neeraj Chopra competed in his first international tournament, the World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine, where he finished 19th overall with a best throw of 66.75 m. His first international medal came in 2014 when he earned silver at the Youth Olympics Qualification in Bangkok. At the 2014 senior nationals, he made his first throw of more than 70 meters (230 feet). In 2015, he broke the then-world junior record at the All India Inter-University Athletics Meet. He threw 81.04 meters (265.9 feet), his first throw above 80 meters (260 feet).

Neeraj placed fifth at the 2015 National Games in Kerala. He also competed at the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships, where he finished ninth with a best throw of 70.50 meters. As a result of his achievement, he was invited to a national-level training camp at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala in early 2016. According to him, this was a watershed moment in his career because he received better facilities, better food, and a higher standard of training than what was available at Panchkula. Additionally, working alongside national-level javelin throwers boosted his morale.

Neeraj Chopra set a new personal best in the 2016 South Asian Games, winning gold with a throw of 82.23 m (269.8 ft) on February 9 in Guwahati. Following the event, he began working with Australian coach Gary Calvert, who was selected as the national javelin coach. He also suffered a back ailment in April 2016 during the Federation Cup in New Delhi, which hampered his play. In July 2016, he won the gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, with an 86.48 m (283.7 ft) throw, setting a new world junior record and becoming the first Indian to hold both the national senior and world junior records simultaneously.

Although his record throw exceeded the qualification mark for the 2016 Olympics, he was unable to qualify because the deadline had passed. In September 2016, he left the Netaji Subhas Institute to train at the SAI Centre in Bangalore. In December 2016, he was formally admitted as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian Army. He was offered the rank of Naib Subedar in the Rajputana Rifles. He was later granted prolonged leave to pursue his training. He won gold at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar with a throw of 85.23 meters (279.6 feet).

Asian and Commonwealth champion (2017-2020)

Neeraj Chopra finished 15th in the overall classification at the 2017 World Championships in August, with a best throw of 82.26 meters (269.9 feet). He injured his groin at the Zürich Weltklasse on August 24th. He was injured after his third 83.39 m (273.6 ft) effort, after which he fouled and skipped the next two. His first and best throw of 83.80 meters (274.9 feet) placed him seventh. He blamed his injury on a hectic schedule and a lack of sufficient nutrition and rest. Due to his injury, he withdrew from participation for the rest of 2017.

He spent a month recovering at the Joint Services Wing Sports Institute in Vijayanagar. In November 2017, he traveled to Offenburg, Germany, to train with Werner Daniels, whom he had temporarily worked with before the 2017 World Championships after his former coach, Calvert, departed India in May owing to contract disagreements. During his time there, he concentrated on strength training and fine-tuned his technique by adjusting his stance to keep his hand up higher during throws, which improved his distance.

Neeraj won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with a season-best performance of 86.47 meters (283.7 feet). He was the first Indian to win the javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games. In May 2018, he broke his national record at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix with a throw of 87.43 m (286.8 ft). In August 2018, he made his Asian Games debut, carrying India’s flag during the 2018 Asian Games Parade of Nations. On August 27, he threw 88.06 m (288.9 ft) to win the gold medal in the Games, breaking his Indian national record. This was India’s first gold medal in the javelin throw at the Asian Games.

That year, Neeraj Chopra was the only track and field athlete recommended by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the country’s top sports honor, the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna. He received the Arjuna Award in September 2018. In November, the army unexpectedly promoted him to subedar. In preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he worked with German coach Uwe Hohn, biomechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz, and physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha. Hohn worked on honing Neeraj Chopra’s throwing technique, which he described as “wild”.

Injury and comeback (2019-2020)

Neeraj Chopra missed the 2019 World Championships in Doha owing to an injury. On May 3, 2019, he had surgery in Mumbai to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. After rehabilitation and rehabilitative training in Patiala and Vijayanagar, he traveled to South Africa in November 2019 to train with Bartonietz. After a 16-month break, he returned to international competition in January 2020. He threw 87.86 meters (288.3 feet) at the Central North West Athletics League Meeting in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

This enabled him to meet the automatic qualification requirement of 85 m (279 ft) and secure a spot in the 2020 Olympics. He relocated to Turkey for training but was compelled to return to India in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Neeraj Chopra spent the next year training in Patiala due to the pandemic and Indian lockdown. In late 2020, the Athletics Federation of India and the Government of Odisha organized a training camp at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, which he attended from December 2020 to February 2021.

On March 5, 2021, he broke his national record with a throw of 88.07 m (288.9 ft), placing him third-best worldwide for the season. He applied to fly to Sweden for training, but the epidemic impacted his plans. After weeks of trying to get a visa, he was cleared to fly to Europe with his coach after the intervention of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of External Affairs.

Before heading to Portugal for the Meeting Cidade de Lisboa, he flew to Paris on June 5, 2021, for a necessary quarantine. He began his 2021 international season with a throw of 83.18 m (272.9 ft), earning him the gold medal. He stayed in Lisbon until June 19 and then traveled to Uppsala, Sweden, for SAI-approved instruction at a cost of ₹3.49 million (US$42,000).

In June 2021, Neeraj Chopra competed in the Athletics competition in Karlstad, Sweden, where he won gold with a subpar throw of 80.96 m. He won bronze at the following Games in Karlstad, Finland, with a throw of 86.79 m (284.7 ft). In his first and only legal throw, he won the gold medal with a distance of 86.69 meters (284.4 feet). He attributed his poor result to a tendency to throw the javelin higher than he wanted to, as well as having to use a different javelin because his own was unavailable. Following the Kuortane Games, he went to Lucerne to compete in the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern but withdrew due to exhaustion.

Olympic Champion, World Champion, Diamond League and Asiad (2021-2023)

On August 4, 2021, Neeraj Chopra made his Olympic debut. He won his qualifying group at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo with a throw of 86.65 m (284.3 ft), securing an automatic spot in the final. In the final on August 7, he won the gold medal with a throw of 87.58 m (287.3 ft) on his second try. He became the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in athletics, as well as the first Indian Olympic medalist since independence. He also became the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal, following Abhinav Bindra, and the first Asian athlete to do it in the javelin throw.

He was also the youngest Indian to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event, as well as the only one to do it on his debut. His medal helped India achieve its highest-ever Olympic performance. He dedicated his victory to sprinters Milkha Singh and P. T. Usha, both past Indian Olympians. His performance earned him the world number two ranking in the men’s javelin throw. In June 2022, at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, he finished second with a new personal best of 89.30 m (293.0 ft) and set another national record.

In the 2022 Diamond League, Neeraj Chopra beat his national record with an 89.94 m (295.1 ft) throw in second place at the BAUHAUS-Galan in Stockholm. In July 2022, he earned the silver medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships with a throw of 88.13 m. This was India’s second medal at the World Athletics Championships, following long jumper Anju Bobby George’s bronze in 2003.

On August 26, he won again at the Athletissima in Lausanne with a throw of 89.09 m (292.3 ft), qualifying for the Diamond League final at Weltklasse Zürich. On September 8, he won the Diamond League final with a throw of 88.44 m (290.2 ft), becoming the first Indian to do so and qualifying for the 2023 World Championships.

In May 2023, he won the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 88.67 meters (290.9 feet). In the same month, he rose to the top of World Athletics’ men’s javelin throw rankings for the first time. In August 2023, he won the gold medal in the 2023 World Athletics Championships with a throw of 88.17 meters (289.3 feet). In October 2023, he won his second Asian Games gold medal, this time in 2022, with a season-best throw of 88.88 m. He became the first Asian to win gold in the javelin throw at the World Championships.

Paris Olympics(2024-present)

Neeraj Chopra earned a qualification quota for the Paris Olympics 2024 by meeting the Olympic Qualifying Standard (OQS) at the Asian Games. Neeraj began the 2024 season at the 2024 Doha Diamond League on May 10, when he finished second with a throw of 88.36m, only 2cm short of Czechia’s Jakub Vadlejch, who won the championship with a throw of 88.38. On May 15, Neeraj competed in his first competition in India since becoming the Olympic champion, winning gold at the Federation Cup 2024 with a best throw of 82.27m. Before the Paris Olympics, Neeraj Chopra competed in the Paavo Nurmi Games, where he won gold with an 85.97m throw on June 18.

In the qualifier for the men’s javelin throw event in Paris, he topped the table with a season’s best of 89.34 m (293.1 ft) in his first throw, securing a direct passage to the finals because the mark was far higher than the direct qualification threshold of 84 m (276 ft). In the final, he achieved his lone valid throw of 89.45 m (293.5 ft) on the second try. The performance was good enough for a silver medal, trailing only Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who won gold with an Olympic record throw of 92.97 m (305.0 feet). With his gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, he became India’s fifth individual multiple medalist and the first to win both gold and silver.

FAQs About Neeraj Chopra

What is the age of Neeraj Chopra?

Neeraj Chopra’s age is 27 Years, his date of birth is Dec 24, 1997, his horoscope is Capricorn, his place of birth is Khandra, India, his nationality is Indian, and his residence is Khandra, India.

Who is Neeraj Chopra?

Neeraj Chopra is an Indian Track and Field Athlete.

What is the Profession of Neeraj Chopra?

Neeraj Chopra is an Indian Track and Field Athlete by profession.

Who is Neeraj Chopra’s wife?

Neeraj Chopra is not married yet.

Who is Neeraj Chopra’s Parents?

Neeraj Chopra’s father’s name is Satish Kumar and his mother’s name is Saroj Devi.

Who is Neeraj Chopra’s siblings?

Neeraj Chopra’s sibling’s names are Sarita and Sangeeta.

What is the net worth of Neeraj Chopra?

Neeraj Chopra’s net worth is $4.5 million.

What is Neeraj Chopra’s education?

Neeraj Chopra’s education is Graduation.

What is the height of Neeraj Chopra?

Neeraj Chopra’s height is 5 feet 10 inches.

What is the weight of Neeraj Chopra?

Neeraj Chopra’s weight is 75 KG.

Neeraj Chopra’s Instagram Account

You can follow Neeraj on his official Instagram Account @neeraj____chopra.

Read our previous Blog: Arshad Nadeem Biography.

Image Gallery Of Neeraj Chopra

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