India’s ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra is sweating it out in the gym and athletic track in South Africa as he aims to bring another gold medal home in the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. Sports Authority of India (SAI) shared a video on X on Tuesday, which showed Neeraj going through intense preparation and hard work on the field as well as in the gym as he eyes another medal.
“Homeboy Neeraj is sweating it out in South Africa, under #TOPScheme funding! The prep for #ParisOlympics is going strong,” SAI wrote on X.
In 2018, Neeraj made his impact at the continental and Commonwealth levels. He won gold in the javelin throw at the Asian Games in Jakarta. With a throw of 88.06 m, he made a mark at continental level, giving signs of a fine future. He also secured a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 2018 with a throw of 86.47m. But the year 2021 was when everything changed for Neeraj and suddenly, he had become India’s ‘golden boy’. He captured an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo with the best throw of 87.58 m. With this, he became the first-ever Indian to win an athletics gold.
In June 2023, he set a new national record and finished with a silver medal with a throw of 89.30 metres at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland, bettering his own previous national record of 88.07 metres, which he had set in Patiala in March 2022.
Neeraj lived up to expectations to win gold at the Asian Games, and his compatriot Kishore Kumar Jena took home a silver medal as Indian athletes put up a power-packed performance at the Hangzhou Olympic Stadium in 2023.
