Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra became the latest Indian sporting icon to be bestowed with the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. Chopra had previously held the rank of Naib Subedar in 2016 and was later promoted to Subedar and Subedar Major in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
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Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra has been conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, with the Ministry of Defence bestowing the honour on the two-time Olympic medalist with an announcement in the Gazette of India, the Government of India’s weekly journal, on Wednesday. The development comes two days before the Doha Diamond League, in which Chopra will be making his first appearance of the 2025 season.
“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 sEx- Sub Maj Neeraj Chopra, PVSM, Padma Shri, VSM, Village & Post Office Khandra, Panipat, Haryana with effect from 16 April, 2025,” read a statement from Major General GS Choudhry, Joint Secretary, Department of Military Affairs.
Revisiting Neeraj Chopra’s journey with the Indian Army
Chopra had previously held the rank of Naib Subedar with the Indian Army after enrolling as a Junior Commissioned Officer in 2016. He was later promoted to the rank of Subedar and Subedar Major in 2021 and 2024 respectively, the latter being the highest rank for a junior commissioned officer.
Chopra had made history by winning javelin gold
in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, becoming only the second Indian to win an individual gold medal as well as a track and field medal in the Olympics.
Three years later, he would stand on the podium once again, this time
winning silver in the Paris Olympics
after finishing runner-up to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem. Chopra thus became only the third Indian to win a medal in multiple editions of the Olympics, and has already cemented his legacy as India’s greatest athlete of all time.
Besides Chopra, legendary shooter Abhinav Bindra – the only other Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal – was also conferred with the honour of Lieutenant Colonel, as was cricket icon MS Dhoni. Both Bindra and Dhoni received the honour in 2011.
