Neeraj Chopra Conferred With Honorary Rank Of Lieutenant Colonel, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi And Rajnath Singh Honour Olympic Champion

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has been conferred with Honorary Rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The star athlete being pipped as honorary Lieutenant Colonel marks a major milestone in his decorated career. The ceremony was held in New Delhi, in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi.

Chopra had joined the Indian Army as a junior commissioned officer in the rank of Naib Subedar on 26 August 2016. He had later received promotions to Subedar in 2021 and Subedar Major in 2022.

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Here's a Look at Neeraj Chopra's Illustrious Career

Neeraj Chopra made the entire country proud by winning the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, and the rest is history. The star athlete has been felicitated with several national honours for his contribution to the sport. Chopra had received the Arjuna Award in 2018, the Khel Ratna in 2021. He also received the Vishisht Seva Medal after he created history in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Chopra, who continued to break new records and dominate several sporting competitions, was conferred with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award.

Chopra had entered the 2024 edition of the Olympics as the reigning champion and was considered as the favourite to retain his gold medal. His best throw of the night was of 89.45 meters, which he had achieved during his second attempt. He ended up securing the silver medal in the Paris Olympics and solidifies his position as one of the world's top javelin throwers.

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Neeraj Breaches the 90m Barrier

The star javelin thrower broke the 90m barrier for the first time in his career earlier this year. He had registered a throw of 90.23 at the Doha Diamond League at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, which had come during his third attempt of the final.

Neeraj had finished second, just behind Julian Weber (91.06m), but the 90m barrier was something that Neeraj had looked to breach for a very long time, and it was nothing but a landmark moment for him.