Olympic gold medalist and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra celebrates his 26th birthday today. The star athlete has taken the world by storm ever since he won India’s first-ever athletics gold medal in the 2021 Olympic Games. His rise to fame has been astonishing to watch, achieving it solely on his hard work and sheer determination to be the best.
Neeraj Chopra’s rise
At 19, Neeraj had already started making his mark. He claimed the gold medal in the World Junior Championship and a silver medal in the Asian Championship in 2016. Next year, he joined the big leagues, joined the senior tour, and won gold at the Asian Championships.
If 2016 and 2017 were good for Neeraj Chopra, 2018 was even better. The javelin thrower claimed gold at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Neeraj showed all the signs of a future Olympian by this point, and many had pinned their hopes for a medal at the Olympic Games on him.
But it is and will always be 2021 for which he will be remembered. That year, he arguably became the greatest Indian Olympian. Claiming the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, he etched his name into Indian sports history.
Neeraj Chopra’s success, no fluke
Showing that he wasn’t a one-time wonder, Chopra backed it up in 2022. Despite missing the Commonwealth Games, he broke his own national record (89.94 meters) and won silver at the Paavo Nurmi Games, World Athletics Championships, and Diamond League, and gold at the Kuortane Games. He also became the first-ever Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League trophy.
In 2023, Neeraj Chopra won gold at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and the Asian Games 2022, defending his title.
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