Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra becomes Lt Colonel in Indian Territorial Army

Neeraj Chopra, double Olympic medallist, has been conferred the Honorary Rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. He was a Subedar in the Indian Army before becoming an Olympic Gold medalist. Chopra is the first Indian to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics.

According to The Gazette of India, the appointment 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.  Sachin Tendulkar was honored with the rank of Group Captain in the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2010. 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra was also conferred an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army in 2011.

Neeraj Chopra in Poland

The star Indian javelin thrower 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.

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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.