Out of the 37 athletes selected by the AFI 18 are women including stars like Dutee Chand and Hima Das.
Chopra had won a gold at the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.58m in August 2021.
Chopra has not participated in any competition since bagging historic gold in the Tokyo Olympics.
Neeraj Chopra created history when he won in the Tokyo Olympics last year and became the first Indian athlete to win gold.
Out of the 119, a total of 29 winners are women, 16 are posthumous awardees and one is a transgender awardee.
Apart from Neeraj Chopra, Russia’s tennis player Daniil Medvedev who won the Men’s US Open after defeating Novak Djokovic has also been nominated.
The fans also seemed to like the bond between the two young sports personalities as they left some really good comments on Neeraj’s post.
Among these 128 individuals, there are a total of 9 sportspeople from different fields that have been honored with the prestigious award.
9 recipients (from field of sports) have been selected to be felicitated with Padma Awards this year on Republic Day.
Subedar Neeraj Chopra belongs to 4 Rajputana Rifles; he became the only athlete to strike a gold medal for India at the Tokyo Olympic Games last year
Indian athletes achieved remarkable feats in Tokyo 2021, finishing with its best-ever performance.
Neeraj Chopra’s popularity grew manifolds ever since his javelin flew the 87.58 m distance- the number which will be hallowed in Indian sporting history.
Taking notice of Chopra interacting with the young kids, Prime Minister hailed Neeraj’s efforts and said that it was commendable how the star athlete was taking time out to motivate the young kids on sports and fitness.
While 12 athletes received Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, 35 athletes were conferred ‘Arjuna Award’ at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday.
Neeraj became only the second individual gold medalist at the Olympics after Abhinav Bindra had claimed the gold medal in 2008.
The video was taken at Panipat Sports Stadium on Wednesday where Neeraj notably interacted with kids.
87.58 m is the figure that has etched itself in the history of Indian sports and the Haryana boy whose javelin flew that distance on August 8 in Tokyo has resumed in training.
The 23-year-old brought home India’s first-ever Olympic gold in track & field at Tokyo 2020.
Alongside his impressive acting, the Haryanvi accent of Neeraj Chopra while delivering the dialogues makes the ad look more entertaining.
The hilarious video is from the teaser of upcoming KBC’s episode featuring Neeraj Chopra and PR Sreejesh, which is set to air on September 17.
Last month, Neeraj revealed that had cut short his 2021 season and will be back in 2022 where he will be competing in both the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games.
Neeraj was said to be making only 15-25 lakhs per endorsement on an annual basis prior to his throw of 87.58 metres at the Men’s Javelin throw final at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Chopra and Punia’s medals on the final day of India’s events at the Tokyo Olympics made sure that India finished with its best-ever tally of seven medals.
The 23-year-old posted a video on his Twitter requesting everyone to follow the ongoing games and give more love and support to the participants in the coming days.
With so much hate spreading on social media against his fellow athlete, India’s javelin star was forced to put a video message on Twitter asking everyone to stop their agenda.
Neeraj stressed the fact that the country cannot be satisfied with just one gold medal.
The official naming ceremony of the stadium is slated for August 23.
In another footage, RJ Malishka could be seen asking for a ‘Jaadu Ki Jhappi’ from Neeraj Chopra, making the 23-year-old more awkward.
Neeraj’s family will now have to wait longer for his grand welcome, the preparation of which was in full swing.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hosted the Indian contingent of the Tokyo Olympics for breakfast on Monday and during the meal, PM had treated Neeraj with his favourite “churma.”
While Germany boasts of the greatest javelin thrower of its own in the current era in Johannes Vetter, the coaches who fine-tuned Neeraj’s skill and helped him clinch the historic gold are getting recognition.
AFI’s bid to name August 7 as Javelin Throw Day is an attempt to attract more youth towards the sport.
Neeraj Chopra fulfilled Indian athletics legend Milkha Singh’s last wish of seeing an Indian winning an Olympic medal in track and field.
PM Modi talked to Neeraj Chopra soon after he won the gold medal and hailed him for his heroics.
These are just tokens of appreciation by a nation that is starved of champions and gold medallists.
With congratulatory messages, Neeraj also received various other rewards.
Gavaskar, Shaun Pollock and Harsha Bhogle were seen eating jalebis while doing commentary, which just summed up the lovely day for India.
With the Tokyo Olympics entering Day 15, there were a plethora of competitions reaching into its final stage.
Here is how all the results for Indian contingent unfolded on a historic Saturday.
India’s Prime Minister was quick to hail Neeraj Chopra for his heroics on Saturday. He hailed the 23-year-old for his grit and passion that the athlete demonstrated in Tokyo.
The netizens claimed that Nadeem might have been forced to delete the tweet due to fear of facing backlash from Pakistan fans.
Neeraj Chopra’s gold helped India surpass its previous best of 6 medals from the London Games in 2012.
At the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Neeraj has won a gold medal with a throw of 87.58 meters.
Chopra’s triumph for his country was celebrated with crazy scenes in his village, Khandra.
The Indian national anthem was played in Olympics after a long wait of 13 years.
The 23-year-old came up with a sensational 87.58m throw in his second attempt which secured a historic gold medal for India at Tokyo 2020.
The 23-year-old came up with a sensational 87.58m throw in his second attempt which secured a historic gold medal for India at Tokyo 2020.
With India’s only remote chance of a medal in athletics depending on Chopra’s performance in the final, everyone would be eager to watch him perform.
The automatic qualification mark was set at 83.50m and Chopra cleared it with ease in his first attempt.