Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra turns 24

WISHES poured in for India’s Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra on Friday (24) when he turned 24.

From fans to members of the sports fraternity, the young javelin thrower from the northern Indian state of Haryana received heartfelt wishes on social media.

Chopra became only the second Indian to win a gold medal in an individual discipline after Abhinav Bindra who clinched the top medal in shooting in Beijing Olympics in 2008. He also became the first Indian to claim gold in athletics at the quadrennial show.

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Rani Rampal, the captain of the Indian women’s hockey team that finished fourth in Tokyo Olympics 2020, tweeted, “Wish u very happy birthday champion @Neeraj_chopra1. Wish u a great year ahead.”

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Yogeshwar Dutt, the Olympic bronze-winning wrestler at the 2012 edition, wrote on Facebook, “Happy birthday to Olympic gold medalist and India's darling, younger brother Neeraj Chopra.”

Tokyo Olympian wrestler Sonam Malik tweeted, “Many Many Happy returns of the day @Neeraj_chopra1 Sir.”

“Happy Birthday @Neeraj_chopra1 Sir,” Akash Kumar, bronze medallist at World Boxing Championship 2021, tweeted.

Chopra thanked all in a Twitter video saying, “Thank you all for your warm wishes.”

The ace athlete is currently undertaking off-season training at Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Centre in California, the US.

He is also preparing for the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games at the prestigious training centre.