Now the country’s ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra becomes ‘Lieutenant Colonel’ in the army.

Neeraj Chopra, the ‘Golden Boy’ of India and who made the country famous in the world in javelin throw, now has bigger stars on his shoulders. Two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj has been awarded the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army.

On 22 October 2025, a special ceremony was organized in South Block, Delhi, where Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi placed the shining insignia of Lieutenant Colonel on the shoulders of Neeraj. On this occasion, the Defense Minister praised Neeraj Chopra and described him as a symbol of determination, patriotism and the Indian spirit of never giving up.

Journey from constable to ‘Lieutenant Colonel’

Neeraj Chopra’s relationship with the Indian Army is very old and deep.

• 2016: He joined the Army as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the rank of Naib Subedar.
• 2021: After winning the historic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, he was promoted to the rank of Subedar.
• 2022: The Army awarded him the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and he was then promoted to the rank of Subedar Major.

Along with his career in the Army, Neeraj was also awarded the country’s major civilian honours, which include the Arjuna Award, Khel Ratna Award and the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian honour.

ups and downs are part of the game

While on one hand Neeraj got this big honour, on the other hand recently he was a little disappointed on the field. He could not defend his title at the World Athletics Championships and finished eighth with a throw of 84.03 metres.

Commenting on his performance, Neeraj revealed that he had some back problems, but he accepted it and said, “After all, this is life and sport.” Ups and downs are a part of every player’s life. Now Neeraj’s eyes are set on winning the gold medal in next year’s Asian Games, where he is expected to face tough competition from Pakistan’s star player Arshad Nadeem.