Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who created history last year by winning India’s first athletics gold medal in Olympics, was awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal and fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri on Tuesday.Chopra, a Subedar with the 4 Rajputana Rifles in the Indian Army, had produced a second-round throw of 87.58m in the javelin throw finals at Tokyo Olympics in August 2021 to win the gold medal.In a Twitter post, Chopra said he is humbled and honoured to know that he has been named as a recipient of the Padma Shri award and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
“I thank you all for your good wishes and blessings and will continue to work hard to do my best for the nation,” he noted.Chopra thanked people for their wishes and support.”I will keep working hard and I will keep trying to perform in a similar manner for our country,” he said.The Indian Army on Tuesday released a “list of Army personnel awarded for their gallantry and distinguished service on the occasion of Republic Day 2022”.Along with Chopra, 18 other serving and retired personnel of the Indian Army have been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.Later during the day, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released the list of persons who have won the Padma Shri award this year.Chopra has been awarded Padma Shri, the MHA noted.Chopra was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2018 and Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in 2020 for his excellence in sports.Chopra was enrolled into the 4 Rajputana Rifles as a Naib Subedar on May 15, 2016.After joining the Army, he was selected for training at the ‘Mission Olympics Wing’ as well as at the Army Sports Institute, Pune.The Mission Olympics Wing is an initiative by the Indian Army to identify and train promising sportspersons in 11 disciplines for various national and international competitions.
