Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has been conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, as confirmed by The Gazette of India, an official publication of the Government of India. The designation took effect on April 16, 2025.
According to a notification issued by Major General GS Choudhry, Joint Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs, “No 3 (E) dated 9th May 2025, in exercise of the powers conferred by Para -31 of the Territorial Army Regulations, 1948, the President is pleased to confer on sEx- Sub Maj Neeraj Chopra, PVSM, Padma Shri, VSM, Village & Post Office Khandra, Panipat, Haryana, with effect from 16 April, 2025.”
Chopra, who joined the Indian Army as a Naib Subedar on August 26, 2016, has seen a steady rise in both military and sporting ranks. He received the Arjuna Award in 2018, followed by the Khel Ratna and Vishisht Seva Medal in recognition of his athletic excellence and service. By 2021, he had been promoted to Subedar, and in 2022, he earned the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the highest peacetime honour awarded by the Armed Forces. That same year, he was elevated to Subedar Major and also received the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award.
The decorated javelin thrower is set to kick off his 2025 season at the Doha Diamond League this Friday. He will then participate in the 71st Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet in Chorzow, Poland, on May 23, followed by the Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic on June 24. Chopra missed the previous two editions of the Ostrava event due to injury.
He was initially scheduled to headline the first-ever Neeraj Chopra Classic at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium on May 24, but the event has been postponed indefinitely amid heightened tensions along the India-Pakistan border.