New Delhi– Two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra has been conferred with the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, according to an official announcement published in the Gazette of India by the Ministry of Defence on Wednesday.
Chopra, who won silver in the javelin throw at the 2024 Paris Olympics and made history with his gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is now India’s most decorated individual Olympian. He is the first Indian track and field athlete to claim an Olympic gold and concluded his 2024 season with a second-place finish at the Diamond League Final in Brussels.
The notification, dated May 9, 2025, 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 of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army on Ex-Sub Maj Neeraj Chopra, PVSM, Padma Shri, VSM, Village & Post Office Khandra, Panipat, Haryana, with effect from April 16, 2025.”
Chopra began his military career in 2016, when he was inducted as a Junior Commissioned Officer with the rank of Naib Subedar. Following his gold medal triumph in Tokyo, he was promoted to Subedar in 2021.
Chopra joins a distinguished list of Indian athletes honored with military ranks for their contributions to sport. Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra was similarly named a Lieutenant Colonel following his historic win at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Shooter Vijay Kumar was awarded the honorary rank of Captain after his silver medal performance in 2012.
Former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni also holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel, conferred in 2011 in recognition of his leadership in India’s victories at the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. (Source: IANS)
