Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra became lieutenant colonel, the title was given by the defense minister

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has been given the rank of honorary lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh conferred this honor on him at a ceremony held in Delhi on October 22. Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi was also present on this occasion. Neeraj was given this status for his outstanding achievements in athletics and being an inspiration to the youth.

His association with the army is from 2016
Neeraj has been associated with the Indian Army since 2016, when he joined the army as a Naib Subedar. He was promoted as Subedar in 2021 and Subedar Major in 2022. After winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, he was awarded the Param Vishishta Seva Medal, the Arjuna Award and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. Neeraj retired from the army this year. He was made an honorary lieutenant colonel in May 2025, although he is currently out of the country and has only now officially received the honour.

Many athletes have received this honor before
Before Neeraj, several athletes have been awarded honorary ranks by the armed forces. Abhinav Bindra was made an honorary lieutenant colonel by the Indian Army, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kapil Dev were made honorary lieutenant colonels. Sachin Tendulkar is an Honorary Group Captain in the Indian Air Force.

Neeraj, considered one of the country’s greatest athletes,
Neeraj is one of the few Indian athletes to have won medals in two Olympics, a gold medal at Tokyo 2020 and a silver medal at Paris 2024. Before him, only Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu and Manu Bhakar had achieved this feat. Neeraj also won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games (2018), Asian Games (2018, 2023), and World Championships (2023).