Neeraj Chopra, the new hope of India has now qualified directly for the finals; his stunning throw of 86.65m has made him reach to the top of the list in the Group A contest. The 23-year-old only made his entry in the finals in a few seconds, the finals are on Saturday; his throw went past to the qualifying mark of 83.50 m in his first throw.
Personal life: Belonging to a farming background, his mother is a housewife, and he has 2 sisters. Born on December 24, 1997, he hails from Khandra village, Panipat district, Haryana. He completed his education at DAV College, Chandigarh. He is a Junior Commissioned Officer of the Indian Army; he ranked as a Naib Subedar in 2016. He made a huge donation of INR 2 Lakh during the COVID-19 pandemic in the PM Cares Fund.
Records: He has set a new national record of 88.06 m, and was also appointed as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony. This gold medallist has broken his own record by making a throw of 88.07 m in 2021 at the Indian Grand Prix. He became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games in Javelin.
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His interest: He was inspired by Jai Choudhary (Jaiveer) at the age of 11, the young mind used to see his mentor practicing in the Panipat Stadium. Jaiveer is a javelin athlete who represented Haryana. When he was 11, his weight was 80kg, he was a chubby teen, and his interest in this game led him to burn some calories. His first javelin was of Rs 7000 which he purchased in 2014, and at an international his javelin was worth INR 1 lakh.
Career: He equaled the national record of 82.23 m in 2016 South Asian Games, he also made a national junior record in 2016, and in spite of his record-breaking performances he wasn’t able to qualify for 2016 Summer Olympics because of the deadline. In 2018, he won gold in the 2017 Asian Athletic championship. In 2018, he became the first to bring victory in Common Wealth Games. In the 2018 Doha Diamond league, he broke the national record, and in the same year, he broke his own record at the Asian games by throwing 88.06 m. In 2021 he broke his own record, by throwing 88.07m away and bringing a World-leading position. He opened his international account in 2021, by earning gold in Portugal.
Awards: He was nominated by the AFI for the country’s highest sports award in 2018, and has won Arjuna Award in 2018 after winning gold in Gold coast Commonwealth.
The nation record-setter
is having his finals on 7th August i.e. Saturday at 4.30 PM. All the hopes and
prayers of the Indians are with him and hopefully, he brings laurels to the
nation.