India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra added to his extraordinary portfolio by winning the Silver Medal at the World Athletics Championship on Sunday (July 24). By virtue of this feat, Neeraj became only the second Indian and first male Indian to win a medal at the World Athletics Championship in history.Neeraj has now completed the full set having won medals at the World Championship, Olympics, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games.
While he has won the gold medal in all the three other events, the elusive title of World Champion still awaits him. Despite being just 24-year-old, Neeraj has one of the most impressive profiles for any Indian sportsperson ever.Neeraj's rise to the top had began after he won the gold medal at the U-20 World Championship in 2016 which made the nation take notice of him. After local children teased him about his childhood obesity, Chopra's father enrolled him in a gymnasium at Madlauda; he was later enrolled in a gym in Panipat. While playing at Shivaji stadium in Panipat, he saw some javelin throwers and began participating himself.In 2013, Neeraj Chopra entered his first international competition, the World Youth Championships in Ukraine.He won his first international medal in 2014, a silver at the Youth Olympics Qualification in Bangkok. He achieved his first throw of over 70 metres at the 2014 senior nationals. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's javelin throw. A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army, Chopra is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics.He is also the first track and field athlete from India to win at the IAAF World U20 Championships, where in 2016 he achieved a world under-20 record throw of 86.48 m, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record. Neeraj Chopra is the only Indian to win a gold medal at the olympics in the track and field events for India.