Neeraj Chopra promoted to Lt. Colonel (Honorary) in Indian Army

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra reached another milestone in his illustrious career with his pipping ceremony as Lt. Colonel (Honorary) on Wednesday in New Delhi.

The event was attended by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Upendra Dwivedi. As per The Gazette of India, Neeraj’s honorary promotion is effective from April 16.

Neeraj began his journey with the Indian Army as a junior commissioned officer, joining as a Naib Subedar on August 26, 2016. Two years later, he was honoured with the Arjuna Award for his exceptional achievements in athletics, followed by the Khel Ratna award in 2021. That same year, he earned a promotion to the rank of Subedar.

After his historic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Chopra received the Param Vishisht Seva Medal from the Indian Army in 2022. That year also saw him rise to the rank of Subedar Major and be awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, recognising his contributions to sports.

Recently, Chopra faced a setback at the World Athletics Championships, finishing eighth in the javelin throw with a best distance of 84.03 m, ending his streak of 26 consecutive top-two finishes. His compatriot Sachin Yadav outperformed him, securing fourth place with a throw of 86.27 m, narrowly missing a medal.

Reflecting on his performance, Neeraj said he was surprised by the result due to some back problems, but accepted it as part of "life and sports." His remarkable run of podium finishes, which started at the 2021 Kourtane Games just before his Olympic triumph, came to an end at this marquee event.

Before this, the last time Chopra had finished outside the top three was at the 2018 Continental Cup in Czechia, where he placed sixth.