Neeraj Chopra Age, Records, Family, Net worth, Height, Career and Biography

Neeraj Chopra is an international track and field athlete from India. Neeraj has achieved a lot at a very young age. In 2021, he represented India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won India’s first gold medal in the javelin throw event. After his successful Olympic campaign, Neeraj is ranked second in the world athletics international rankings.

Along with his sporting career, Neeraj serves as a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army. In 2016, he had multiple world records to his credit when he became the first Indian athlete to set a world record by throwing the javelin at a distance of 86.48 meters in the World Under-20 Javelin Throw event.

Neeraj Chopra Biography, Wiki

[table “99” not found /]

Neeraj Chopra Birthday and Early Life

[table “96” not found /]

Neeraj was born on 24 December 1997 in Chandra village of Haryana. Neeraj is the only son of his parents along with two sisters. Neeraj’s father is a professional farmer, and his mother is a homemaker.

Niraj completed his secondary education in his hometown, and then moved to Chandigarh to complete his graduation, where he graduated from Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College. In 2021, Neeraj was admitted to the Lawley Professional University in Punjab to pursue a Bachelor of Arts.

Neeraj Chopra Height, Physical stats

[table “95” not found /]

Height: 5′ 11″
Weight: 86 kg
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black

Neeraj Chopra Family

[table “97” not found /]

His father Satish Kumar Chopra works as a farmer. His mother’s name is Saroj Devi. He has two younger sisters Sangeeta and Sarita. Neeraj lives in a joint family of more than 17 people.

Neeraj Chopra Athletic Career

Like many other successful people, Neeraj also drew inspiration from his own frail outlook, where as a child he was teased by his friends because of his obesity. Hence his father enrolled him in a gymnasium and then joined a gym at the Shivaji Stadium in Panipat, where he saw javelin throwers for the first time and became curious about it.

He later started training, and in 2010 to pursue his interest in javelin throw, he appeared for the Sports Authority of India’s entry trials. Luckily, he was spotted by renowned javelin thrower Xavier Chowdhary, who decided to train Neeraj. Then, he joined other professional javelin throwers in Jalandhar for further training.

Neeraj won his first medal in the district championship and sought his father’s permission to stay in Panipat for his further practice.

Neeraj Chopra International Career

In 2013, Neeraj participated in his first international athletics competition held in Ukraine as the World Youth Championships. Here Neeraj failed to win a medal, but took with him many lessons and experiences, which he used in the Youth Olympic Qualification in 2014, where he won a silver medal in the 70m throw. Then between 2014 and 2021, Neeraj won medals in many national and international level competitions.

Neeraj’s journey to gold was not that easy and straight forward as he faced several hurdles, which prevented him from participating in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The biggest one, which was also a deterrent for many other athletes, was the lack of facilities and not being allowed to train outside during Covid. -19 pandemic. Still, these problems did not deter Neeraj from his ultimate goal of winning an Olympic gold medal.

He resumed his training with a 104.80m javelin throw under the guidance of Germany’s own Hahn, himself a world record holder. Hawn always kept Neeraj active and always worked on improving Neeraj’s throwing technique.

ALSO CHECK : Arshdeep Singh Family, Height, Net worth, Bowling Speed, Age, Biography

Neeraj Chopra Awards and Honors

Neeraj Chopra has been honored with several awards for his unique contribution to sports. The most notable awards include the Padma Shri Award, the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal from the Indian Army.

Gold Medals

• 2016: South Asian Games in Guwahati, India
• 2016: World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland
• 2017: Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, India
• 2018: Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia
• 2018: Sotteville Athletics Meet in Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France
• 2018: Savo Games in Lapinlahti, Finland
• 2018: Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia
• 2021: Tokyo Olympics 2020

Silver Medal

• 2016: Asian Junior Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• 2017: Asian Grand Prix Series in Jinhua, China
• 2017: Asian Grand Prix Series in Jiaxing, China
• 2018: Offenburg Speerwurf Meeting in Offenburg, Germany
• 2022: Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland
• 2022: World Athletics Championships

Bronze Medal

• 2017: Asian Grand Prix Series in Taipei, Taiwan

Neeraj Chopra Records

• 2018: National Record of 88.06m mark at the Asian Games

• 2021: National record of 88.07m mark at the Indian Grand Prix
• 2022: In June, he set a new national record as he threw 89.30 metres at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland. [5]
• 2022: On 23 July, he became the second Indian to win a medal at World Athletics Championships after Anju Bobby George. [6]
• 2022: On 8 September, he became the first Indian-ever to win the Diamond League Trophy when he launched his spear to dizzying heights of 88.44m at an overcast Letzigrund stadium in Zurich.

Neeraj Chopra Awards, Honours, Achievements,coaches

• 2017: Hindustan Times Top 30 under 30 awarded by Captain Amarinder Singh
• 2018: Arjuna Award
• 2020: Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM)
• 2021: Sportstar ACES Award- Sportsman of the Decade (Track and Field)
• 2021: Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
• 2022: Padma Shri (Sports)
• 2022: On 2nd February, he was nominated for the prestigious Laureus ‘World Breakthrough of the Year’ award, making him only the third Indian to fetch a Laureus nomination after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and wrestler Vinesh Phogat.

Coach(es)/Mentor(s)

• Gary Calvert
• Naseem Ahmad
• Klaus Bartonietz
• Werner Daniels
• Uwe Hohn (personal coach)
• Raj Kumar (army coach)

Neeraj Chopra Net worth

The net worth of Neeraj Chopra in 2022 is around $4 million. He is an Indian athlete who is an Olympic champion and world champion. He is the only Indian to win a gold medal for India in track and field events at the Olympics. Neeraj Chopra net worth is a great example that shows you how you can turn your skills and hard work into a cash machine and diversify your earning.

He earns money from many sources, but his main source of income comes from his and prize pools and awards. Apart from this, he also earns a lot from his social media accounts. Neeraj is quite active on his Instagram account and is constantly admired by his followers for his unique personality. He has amassed more than 6 million followers on Instagram and other platforms alike.

He has earned most of his wealth from the prize money, which includes Rs. One crore from BCCI. Six crore rupees from the Haryana government. 2 crore from the Government of Punjab, 1 crore from the Government of Manipur and Rs. 2 crores from Baiju. His monthly income is more than Rs.30 lakh, and he earns more than Rs. 4 crores annually.

Neeraj Chopra Instagram, Twitter Account

Some Facts about Neeraj Chopra

[table “98” not found /]

Neeraj Chopra is an Indian athlete who represents India in the javelin throw. He has been given the rank of Junior Commissioned Officer (Subidar) in the Indian Army.
He lives in a joint family with over 17 other members in Panipat, Haryana. As a child, he was a chubby kid and used to wear white kurta pajama. The people of his village used to call him Sarpanch.
When asked in an interview how he got interested in javelin throw, he replied,

As an obese child, at the age of 11, I weighed 80 kilos. To get into shape, I visited the Panipat Stadium during vacations. My pocket money was about Rs 30 and many days I didn’t even have money for a glass of juice. I travelled by bus for about 17 kilometres to reach the stadium and returned with my uncle who worked in Panipat city. Although I was running to shed weight, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. I used to stand at some distance and watch my senior Jaiveer, who has represented Haryana in javelin, practice. One day, at his behest, I tried the javelin. I discovered I could throw it far and the realisation helped me regain my self-esteem.

In an interview, Neeraj said that his family and villagers supported him and that his uncle Bhim Singh encouraged him to pursue a career in Javelin. He further spoke about the lack of facilities for an athlete in his village. He said

I left home when I was 14, owing to a lack of facilities. My formal education was disturbed after class 9. My dream is that villagers need not shift to a city the way I shifted to Panchkula. Athletes from Haryana are winning at the national, international and Olympics level but my village still does not have a playground. Whenever I stay there, I need to practice on the road. If we are to become an Olympian nation, every village should have a stadium and get coaches from the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, where I now train.

During an interview, Neeraj’s father said that Neeraj was a naughty child. He further said that

As a child, Neeraj used to twist the tails of buffaloes. Sometimes he used to harass the elderly by bursting crackers. The whole family was troubled by his words. Feeling proud to see a star adorned on my son’s shoulder. His father Satish Kumar said they had a joint family of 17. Neeraj was their eldest son. During his gym sessions in Panipat, Neeraj started visiting Shivaji Stadium. It was there that he came in contact with javelin thrower Jaiveer from Binjhol.

Neeraj started javelin training at Sports Authority of India (SAI), Panchkula, Haryana and due to lack of proper facilities, he continued his training at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Panchkula, Haryana.

During an interview, Neeraj shared that his senior Xavier Chowdhary was the first person who recognized Neeraj’s skill and talent as a javelin thrower and helped him in his training. He further said that

There were very few facilities to practise javelin in Panipat, the least of them the mud track that we ran on. When I decided to resume training seriously, I shifted to a sports nursery in Panchkula.

I was 14. I practised on a synthetic track for the first time and got to train with athletes who were playing at the national level. I played my first junior nationals in Lucknow in 2012 and broke the national record with a throw of 68.46 metres.

Recalling the early days of Neeraj’s practice sessions during an interview, his then coach Naseem Ahmed said,

He’d sit with his notebook and take tips from them. He would never shy away from training and would always set targets of winning each day’s round with the group. To see him win the gold medal today on the biggest stage is the greatest joy for us. And I am sure he will be spending time with the javelin throwers from the other countries just like he did here with his seniors and friends post-training or competition.

After years of training, he participated in various national and international javelin throw competitions and brought laurels to the country. He has won various medals in competitions like Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships. In an interview, he told how he felt after winning the medal. He said

After the youth nationals at Guntur where I won silver, I was selected for the World Youth Championships in Ukraine. In 2015, I was chosen for the National Games in Kerala. For the first time, in the camp, I got to practise with better-quality javelins, used internationally.

Inferior quality javelins are heavier and can lead to injury: those with better material travel longer in the air. I threw it to a distance of 73.45 metres. In the same games, Rajinder Singh, my senior from Haryana, created a national record with a distance of 82.23.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg congratulated her on social media for winning the Under-20 World Championship in 2016 and setting a national record.
He was commissioned into the Indian Army in 2016 as a Junior Commissioned Officer (Naib Subedar rank) in the parent unit 4 Rajputana Rifles. Later, he was selected for training at the Mission Olympic Wing and the Army Sports Institute in Pune. After that he was promoted from the post of Deputy Subedar to the post of Subedar.
He was selected as India’s flag bearer at the Asian Games 2018.
He had undergone surgery in 2019 due to a right elbow injury sustained in 2018 at the 68th All India Inter-Services Athletics.
On 31st March 2020 he paid Rs. 2 lakh to the PM CARES Fund amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He represented India in javelin throw at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which was held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. During an interview, Neeraj’s uncle said that Neeraj had switched off his phone for a year before Tokyo Olympics 2020 to avoid any distractions.
On 7 August 2021, he won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a mark of 87.58 m and became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. By winning the gold medal, he became the first Indian to win. Gold Medal in Athletics. He is the second Indian after Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

Watch Video :

On his victory, the BCCI chief announced a cash prize of Rs. 1 crore. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar honored him with a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh. 6 Crore and Grade 1 Jobs in Haryana Govt. Later, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh gave him a reward of one lakh rupees. 2 crores on his winnings. He named his gold medal after the legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh.
On Neeraj’s victory, Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat said,

Neeraj Chopra has proven that when there is the WILL there is a way. He has done the Armed Forces and the Nation proud like many other Olympians who have created history in TOKYO 2020.

Neeraj Chopra has proved that when there is a will, there is a way. He has done the Armed Forces and the country proud like other Olympians who created history at Tokyo 2020.
He had cut his long hair before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics so that he would not get in trouble while practicing for the javelin throw.

Talking about his cheati meal during an interview, Neeraj said,

If after I win I want to have a cheat meal, I’ll usually eat something sweet. I usually restrict the number of sweets I eat normally so when I get the chance to have a cheat meal, I’ll usually eat a lot of sweets.

I don’t even care what kind of sweets they are. What I really like is fresh homemade churma (crushed roti with sugar and ghee). It has a lot of ghee and sugar, so it’s something we can’t eat during training so it’s something I really enjoy.

He loves traveling by motorcycle, and owns a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
He has been featured in print ads for Amstrad, an electronics company.
Neeraj Chopra loves animals and often shares pictures with them on his social media accounts.
In September 2021, a CRED commercial went viral on the internet in which Neeraj Chopra showcased his acting skills in various avatars.

Conclusion :

Neeraj Chopra is an exceptional sportsperson who has made his country proud. He has made the dreams of a billion people come true. There is no one like him. Coming from a very young and low-profile family, his achievements are exemplary. We have no words to praise his glory and his achievements.

FAQ’s

1. What is the age of Neeraj Chopra?

Currentyl Neeraj is 25 Years old ( 24 Dec 1997 ).

2. What is the name of Neeraj Chopra Wife?

Neeraj is Unmarried.

3. What is the Name of Neeraj Chopra Coach?