Neeraj Chopra has been conferred honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army. The appointment, according to The Gazette of India, a weekly public journal and an authorised legal document of the Government of India, came into effect on April 16. “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 Ex- Sub Maj Neeraj Chopra, PVSM, Padma Shri, VSM, Village & Post Office Khandra, Panipat, Haryana with effect from 16 April, 2025,” a statement from Major General GS Choudhry, Joint Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, read.
Before Neeraj, former Indian cricket team captains MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev were also conferred honorary ranks in the Territorial Army. 2008 Bejing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra was also conferred an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army in 2011. Sachin Tendulkar was honored with the rank of Group Captain in the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2010.
Neeraj was earlier enrolled as a Junior Commissioned Officer in Naib Subedar rank in the Indian Army on August 26, 2016. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2018 and the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021 for his meritorious service. He was also subsequently promoted to the rank of Subedar in the same year.
After being awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, in 2022, he was promoted to the rank of Subedar Major two years later.
Neeraj Chopra will compete in the 71st ORLEN Janusz Kusociński Memorial event in Chorzów, Poland, on May 23 following the postponement of next week's NC Classic in Bengaluru.
Chopra was slated to compete in the NC Classic — an event he was also set to host on May 24 — alongside several global and Indian stars but the event was postponed in the wake of the military confrontation between India and Pakistan.
In Chorzow, Chopra will be up against two-time world champion and Paris Olympics bronze medallist Anderson Peters of Grenada, Germany's Julian Weber and Polish national record holder Marcin Krukowski. Other Polish competitors include Cyprian Mrzyglod and Dawid Wegner.
The event in Poland will be the third competition for Chopra in the season. He started at South Africa. His next event is on May 16 at the Doha Diamond League where he won the title in 2023 (88.67m) and finished second in 2024 (88.36m).
Peters will be Chopra's rival in Doha also. He was also to compete in the NC Classic, along with the likes of 2016 Olympics gold winner Thomas Rohler of Germany and 2015 world champion Julius Yego of Kenya.
ORLEN Janusz Kusocinski Memorial is a World Athletics Continental Tour silver event. It is the oldest continuously held track and field meeting in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe.
With PTI inputs