List of biggest achievements in Neeraj Chopra's career

Neeraj Chopra is already dubbed by some as the greatest Indian athlete of all time. Aged only 25, the boy from Khandra has already decorated his cabinet with every major title in javelin throw.

The star athlete has also been smart in terms of selecting relevant events from a busy calendar year to avoid serious injuries. Neeraj Chopra hogged the limelight in the Indian sports circuit for the first time in 2016, when he attained the junior world record in javelin throw with an impressive effort of 86.48m to clinch the gold medal at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Poland.

Since then, he has marched onward and upward just in a short span of period. Let’s look at the eminent events where India’s Golden Boy flourished and brought honour to the nation.

Neeraj Chopra's biggest javelin throw victories

#1 Gold in Commonwealth Games 2018

Neeraj Chopra’s first major achievement in a multi-sporting event came at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. He was the first Indian athlete to claim a gold medal in that event. A season-best throw of 86.47m got him a top podium finish and the achievement kicked off spectacularly for his nascent career.

#2 Gold in Asian Games 2018

Following his success in the CWG, Neeraj was considered a medal favorite at the continental showpiece in Jakarta. Neeraj lopsidedly won the 2018 Asian Games, moments ahead of his competitors. The then 20-year-old recorded a stupendous 88.06m to take the gold home with China’s China's Liu Qizhen, the silver medallist of that event, marked 6m behind Neeraj’s best throw.

#3 Gold in Olympics 2020

Neeraj etched many records during the postponed Tokyo Olympics 2020 in 2021. The Haryana-born Neeraj Chopra became the first athlete from independent India to win an Olympic medal in any of the track and field disciplines in 120 years.

Chopra bagged a historic gold in men’s javelin throw with an 87.58m throw in his second attempt to become the country’s second individual gold medallist at the highest level of sports after Abhinav Bindra in the men’s 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

#4 Gold in World Athletics Championship 2023

The only major title that was missing from Neeraj Chopra’s CV was a World Athletics Championships. The mission was accomplished in August 2023 during the World Championships 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.

With the best effort of 88.17m throw, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the senior championships, seven years after winning the junior world championships. This happened a year after Neeraj finished second to Grenada’s Anderson Peters at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon.

#5 Diamond League Titles

Neeraj Chopra has clinched the prestigious Diamond League title for back-to-back years. After returning back in action following a one-month injury lay-off, Chopra secured the Diamond League title with a throw of 87.66m in July 2023. A year ago, the ace Indian javelin thrower became the first Indian to win a Diamond League title in Zurich, an annual series of track and field athletics.