Picture Credit: Twitter
Ever since his historic performance at the Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj Chopra's name is featuring in almost every sports award list. He was awarded Khel Ratna last year. Then he got honoured with Padma Shri this year. Interestingly, before the Tokyo Olympics, very few people would have known Neeraj Chopra. After winning the gold medal at the Men's Javelin Throw event, Neeraj Chopra has become the poster boy for India. His name is being echoed in every street of the country.
Not just in India, Neeraj Chopra has caught the attention of a panel of more than 1300 leading sports journalists and broadcasters in the world. His historic achievement in the track and field event at the 2022 Summer Olympics has earned him a nomination in one of the categories at the Laureus World Sports Awards. Neeraj Chopra has been nominated with five other sportspeople from different categories for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the year award.
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. Reigning women's US Open champion, Britain's Emma Raducanu, FC Barcelona's football prodigy Pedri, Venezuala's athlete Yulimar Rojas, and Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus are also among the six nominations in this category.
Sachin Tendulkar and Vinesh Phogat two Indians to feature in Laureus nominations before Neeraj
Before Neeraj Chopra, the two Indian sports personalities who were among the Laureus nominations are wrestler Vinesh Phogat and cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar. While Phogat was nominated in the comeback of the year category in 2019, Sachin Tendulkar won the Laureus World Sports Award for Laureus Sporting Moment 2000-2020 in 2020.
Neeraj Chopra 'delighted' at the nomination!
The only second Indian two win a gold medal at the Olympics, Neeraj Chopra said he was delighted at being nominated for the Laureus award. He also said that it's a great honor that he is being recognized in the wider sporting world.
"I'm delighted to be nominated for this Laureus Award and it's a great honor for me to be recognized in the wider sporting world for what I achieved in Tokyo. From being a kid in a small village in rural India who only took up the sport to get fit, to standing on top of an Olympic podium, it's been quite an eventful journey so far," Neeraj said in a statement.