Neeraj Chopra was clicked with with 2016 champion Thomas Röhler and 3-time Olympic champion and one of his idols Jan Železný in Turkey. (Instagram) Neeraj Chopra on Monday was clicked with with 2016 champion Thomas Röhler and 3-time Olympic champion and one of his idols Jan Železný in Turkey.
The picture was posted from Röhler’s account and captioned, “FIVE OLYMPIC GOLDS in one picture.”
Chopra, who is currently training at Belek, Turkey, made history when he won in Tokyo last year, earning India’s first Olympic gold medal in athletics and instantly becoming a sporting superstar in his home country. Earlier in the season, he had broken his own national record with 88.07m.
He also became only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold after shooter Abhinav Bindra.
Last month, Chopra received the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian award. The 24-year-old javelin thrower received the prestigious award from President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during a ceremony.
Paralympic gold medallist in badminton Pramod Bhagat was also conferred with the honour alongside Chopra. The 33-year-old Bhagat also became the first Indian to win a gold medal in para badminton, which made its debut at the Paralympics last year.
Bhagat, who had contracted polio when he was 4 years old, won the gold in the men’s singles SL3 class.
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