Indian Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year Award 2023 in the sports category on Wednesday for his scintillating performances. Chopra was not physically present to receive the award, which was presented by Anju Bobby George, a former Indian athlete and vice president of the Athletics Federation of India.
The other nominees for the sports category were boxer Nikhat Zareen, shuttler doubles pairing Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, cricketer Shubman Gill and footballer Sunil Chhetri.
CNN-News18's #IndianofTheYear in the #Sports category goes to Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1)
WATCH his victory speech from #SouthAfrica, as @ShivaniGupta_5 and @anjubobbygeorg1 present the award to his uncle on his behalf@toyasingh @anushasoni23 | #NeerajChopra #IOTY pic.twitter.com/sBwCXTo9b7— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 10, 2024
In 2023, Chopra scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win the gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a throw that was measured at 88.17 meters, hence qualifying for the Paris Olympics slated to be held later this year.
He also bagged a silver medal in the Diamond League 2023 in Eugene, Oregon, US, in September, finishing behind the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch. Currently, Chopra sits at the crown of the men's javelin throw rankings, becoming the first Indian to achieve acclaim in track and field.
In October, he defended his Asian Games gold with his season-best throw of 88.88 meters, as his compatriot Kishore Jena finished second with his personal best of 87.54 meters in Hangzhou, China.
Chopra came into the limelight after winning the gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Poland with a record throw of 86.48 meters, which still stands unbroken. Following this, he became Asian champion in 2017, gold medalist at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games winner in 2018.
But, in 2019, Neeraj missed the world championships due to an elbow injury, sidelining him for 16 months. However, he made a strong comeback to cement his spot for the Tokyo Olympics. Since then, Neeraj has been one of the most successful athletes in the history of Indian sports, as he ended India’s 12-year Olympic gold drought and has become an inspiration for millions of youngsters across the country.
Moreover, Chopra has also received multiple national awards—the Arjuna Award (2018), the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (2021) and Padma Shri (2022), which is a testament to his consistently outstanding performances.
