New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra, India’s double Olympic medallist javelin star, has made headlines for potentially controversial reasons after leaving his post of Subedar Major in the Indian Army. The 27-year-old, who joined the Army under the sports quota in 2016, said he was switching to devote all his time to sports.
Chopra, a native of Khandra village in Haryana, became the first-ever Indian track-and-field athlete to secure an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games and later earned a silver in Paris 2024. With the Mission Olympics Wing and Army Sports Institute in Pune backing him, he reached the rank of Subedar Major with the Army’s Rajputana Rifles over nine years, having started as Naib Subedar. The Army offered him financial security and, ultimately, top-tier training that helped him rise to the top of his game. However, insiders close to Chopra say the gruelling nature of military duties, even as a sports jogger who had an extended leave from the forces, started to conflict with his punishing training plan and international competitive schedules.
Family friends, who did not wish to be named, said Neeraj has always been thankful to the Army for supporting him, which, in turn, provided him with a stage on which to perform. “But right now, he wants to fully control how he trains and recovers to remain at his best.” Chopra has to plan his season with the World Athletics Championships in mind, with his next major meet in Poland at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial on May 23. With a fresh training group under Czech legend Jan Železný, he is entering a demanding new phase of his career that will require full concentration.
The resignation evoked a mixed initial response. While some fans praise Chopra for choosing his sport over the post, others feel heartened and say that the Army has played an essential role in his success. Social media are filled with these contrasting realities; for example, one wrote, “Neeraj is a national hero thanks to the Army. Why leave now?” Another retorted, “He is entitled to pursue his dreams however he wants.” It comes after the sports ministry recently faced controversy when its invite to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem for the rescheduled Neeraj Chopra Classic was met with backlash amid high India-Pakistan tensions in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Chopra received various awards during his Army service, including the Vishisht Seva Medal and Arjuna Award. His recent honorary Lieutenant Colonel rank in the Territorial Ar Chopra’s Army career earned him honours, such as the Vishisht Seva Medal and Arjuna Award, before he was recently conferred an honorary Lieutenant Colonel rank in the Territorial Army on April 16, 2025. But he continues to be a paragon of discipline and patriotism, even in resignation. In a statement, Chopra said, “The Army around me gave me the strength and motivation.” “I will continue to make my country proud, and this decision is about the next level of my career.
With Chopra on his way to civilian life, he knows what he wants: to seal his legacy as the most excellent javelin thrower in history. With an endorsement-bolstered net worth and a BA from Lovely Professional University in his pocket, the “Golden Boy“ is headed for even greater heights, rank-less but not ambition-less.