Throwback to time when Neeraj Chopra won Arjuna award in 2018 after Commonwealth Games

Rome was not built in a day and neither was Neeraj Chopra's journey to what he has accomplished today. It took passion, hard work and a lot of patience. As India celebrates this historic Olympic gold, let's revisit the time when Chopra received the Arjuna Award for his mesmerizing athletic performances.

What led to Chopra's Arjuna Award?

Winning is a habit and Neeraj Chopra just proved that right after he ended India's 100-year-long wait when he claimed gold at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Wishes poured in from the entire nation as politicians, sports personnel and the acting community came together to relive this moment that would be incorporated in the history books of the generation to come.

What makes this win different is consistency as Chopra has constantly delivered record-breaking performances whenever his country needed him the most. Back in 2018, Chopra was awarded the Arjuna Award that is conferred only to the most desirable athletes for 'Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games'. President Ram Nath Kovind had handed him the award at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi. The award was bestowed to him after his exceptional performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. He was a debutant at the Gold Coast Games where he registered a season-best 86.47-metre throw and also became the first Indian to excel in the field of Javelin. 

Some of Chopra's other accomplishments 

Neeraj Chopra had won a gold medal at the Asian Games 2018. He threw 83.46 metres off the first throw. Of the six attempts, Neeraj's second and sixth attempts were fouls. His third and fourth attempts were 88.06 metres and 86.06 metres respectively. His gold was the only second medal for India in javelin throw in the Asian Games history. In 2017, Neeraj won another gold medal with a throw of 85.23m. In 2016, the IAAF World U20 Championship held in Poland, Neeraj Chopra, at the age of 18, set the world's junior record for Javelin throw by a massive 86.48m throw, which he still holds. However, in Doha it was just a treat to watch as Chopra broke his own record with a massive 87.45m throw which he still reigns on.

Image Credits - ANI/Twitter