Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal in the javelin throw competition in the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. It was a historic moment for the entire of India. On winning the gold medal with a sensational performance, he has become the “golden boy” of the nation. He secured India’s second individual gold in Olympic history. He is actually the first Indian in 120 years and the first athlete from India to win an Olympic medal in a track and field discipline. For such an achievement, various state governments and private organizations have honored him with many gifts which include cash as well as cars. Several brands have also come forward announcing other perks for this javelin thrower.
It has been noted that Neeraj Chopra practiced javelin-throwing at NIS Patiala most of the time. He had earned a gold medal previously in 2018 in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. His current national record is that of 88.07 meters throw. Neeraj Chopra’s gold is the second gold medal by an Indian in the individual category after the 2008 Beijing Olympics where Abhinav Bindra, hailing from Punjab, won the gold. The legendary Milkha Singh had a wish of seeing an Indian win an Olympic Medal in a track and field event. But he could not see that happening in his lifetime. However, Neeraj made the impossible possible by winning gold just two months after Milkha Singh’s death. So he decided to dedicate the gold to him. Jeev Milkha Singh was grateful and beyond happy as Neeraj did the unthinkable.
On Saturday, After Neeraj won the gold for the country, rewards have been, quite literally, raining on him. He won with a record of 87.58 meters in the javelin throw. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced a special cash reward of 2 crores for him. The Chief Minister proudly said that it was a glorious moment for India and especially the Punjabis because the family of Neeraj Chopra, who was a serving soldier in the Indian Army, is actually from Punjab. The “golden boy” will also get a cash prize of Rs 6 crore from the Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar. Khattar also stated that Neeraj is made the head of the upcoming Centre for Excellence in Athletics in Panchkula.
The Manipur cabinet has also decided to hand over a reward of 1 crore rupees to Chopra. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that they will be rewarding Neeraj with 1 crore rupees. The IPL (Indian Premier League) franchise Chennai Super Kings has also decided to hand over to the javelin thrower a sum of Rupees 1 crore. Indian airlines IndiGo has come forward with an offer too. They said that Chopra will have access to free travel anywhere using their aircraft for an entire year. The “golden boy’s” rewards did not just stop here. Businessman Anand Mahindra has promised to gift him the SUV XUV700, the new upcoming car which will be launched soon in India.
Getting into his personal life for a bit, Neeraj had studied at DAV College Chandigarh and joined the Indian Army in 2016. In the Indian Army, he was a junior officer in the Rajputana Rifles. Two years later, he won at the Asian Games as stated earlier. After that, there was no looking back for him. He sailed forward and success tagged behind him.
