Neeraj CHOPRA

The challenge from Vetter in the final never materialised and Chopra led the field from start to finish.

While his first throw measuring 87.03m put him on the perch, Neeraj Chopra consolidated his spot with an 87.58m second attempt – a throw that eventually proved enough to win him the historic gold medal.

The win was the culmination of a remarkable, yet short, journey which began with a 13-year-old obese kid taking up sports to lose weight and gain confidence.

Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem: an India v Pakistan rivalry... and friendship

Neeraj Chopra was unable to defend his Olympic title at Paris 2024, but walked away with a silver medal as his best effort of 89.45m was second only to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who took the gold with an Olympic record-shattering 92.97m effort.

Only four Indian athletes have won multiple individual medals at the Olympics to date - Neeraj Chopra, shooter Manu Bhaker, wrestler Sushil Kumar and badminton star PV Sindhu. However, none of the other three boast of a more impressive set than Neeraj.

Both Sindhu and Sushil have one silver and one bronze while Manu won both her bronze medals at Paris 2024.

Neeraj Chopra took to javelin throw after watching the sport at the Shivaji Stadium in Panipat. With the ability to throw over 40m with no training, his talent for the discipline was obvious.

Indian javelin thrower Jaiveer Choudhary recognised his potential and took Neeraj Chopra under his wings. With proper coaching, there was no turning back for the Haryana lad.

Neeraj Chopra dominated the national scene at the youth level and won multiple international accolades. He shot to fame after winning the gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

His winning throw of 86.48m at Poland was the under-20 javelin throw record and made him the first Indian track and field athlete to become a world champion at any level and hold a world record.

With the qualifying cut off for Rio 2016 men’s javelin throw set at 83.00m, the attempt would also have qualified Neeraj Chopra for his maiden Olympics but unfortunately, it came a week after the qualification window had shut. Before that, injuries had hampered Neeraj Chopra’s Rio qualification campaign.

Undeterred, though, Neeraj Chopra continued shining on the international stage. He became the Asian champion in 2017 before winning gold at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games.

Neeraj Chopra missed the 2019 world championships due to an elbow injury, which required surgery and was sidelined for 16 months. The Indian, however, bounced back immediately after his return to qualify for Tokyo 2020 at a meet in Potchefstroom, South Africa in January 2020.

Just a year after his Tokyo triumph, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships. At Oregon 2022, Neeraj Chopra logged a best effort of 88.31m to finish behind reigning champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who managed a 90.54m throw to defend his crown.

The Indian javelin thrower's medal was India's second-ever at the worlds after long jumper Anju Bobby George's bronze medal at the 2003 Paris world championships.

The following year, he did one better by becoming the undisputed world champion in men’s javelin throw at Budapest 2023, with his 88.17m effort beating Arshad Nadeem and Jakub Vadlejch to the punch.

Months later, the Indian ace successfully defended his Asian Games gold at Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China.

Neeraj Chopra also won the men’s javelin throw Diamond League Trophy in 2022, making him the first Indian champion at the prestigious athletics series.

Chopra, a 2018 Arjuna awardee, has also been in possession of the Indian national record in men’s javelin throw since 2016 and has bettered his own marks consistently. Neeraj Chopra's standing national record is 89.94m, achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League 2022.

When he’s not competing, Neeraj Chopra serves as a commissioned officer in the Indian Army.