Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has been conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army. The appointment officially took effect on April 16, as per a notification in The Gazette of India.
The government order, issued by Major General GS Choudhry, Joint Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs, reads:
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Para -31 of the Territorial Army Regulations, 1948, the President is pleased to confer the honorary rank on Ex-Sub Maj Neeraj Chopra, PVSM, Padma Shri, VSM, with effect from 16 April, 2025.”
A Proud Tradition of Sporting Legends in Uniform
Neeraj now joins the ranks of Indian sporting greats who have been similarly honoured:
- MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev received honorary Territorial Army ranks.
- Abhinav Bindra was conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2011.
- Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the Group Captain title by the Indian Air Force in 2010.
Neeraj’s Military Journey
Neeraj Chopra has a long-standing association with the Indian Army.
- He joined as a Naib Subedar (Junior Commissioned Officer) on August 26, 2016.
- He received the Arjuna Award in 2018 and the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021.
- He was promoted to Subedar in 2021 and to Subedar Major in 2024, after being awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022.
Upcoming Competitions: Eyes Set on Poland
Neeraj is preparing for his third event of the 2025 season — the 71st ORLEN Janusz Kusociński Memorial in Chorzów, Poland on May 23.
He will compete against:
- Anderson Peters (Two-time World Champion, Olympic bronze medallist from Grenada)
- Julian Weber (Germany)
- Marcin Krukowski (Polish record holder)
- Cyprian Mrzyglod and Dawid Wegner (Poland)
Change in Plans Due to Geopolitical Tensions
Neeraj was initially set to compete and host the NC Classic in Bengaluru on May 24, but the event has been postponed following recent military tensions between India and Pakistan.
Busy Season for Chopra
- Season opener: South Africa
- Next stop:Doha Diamond League on May 16
- He won the title in 2023 (88.67m)
- Finished second in 2024 (88.36m)
- He will once again face rival Anderson Peters in Doha.
The ORLEN Memorial is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver and is one of the oldest athletics meets in Europe.
