New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra, who brought glory to the nation by becoming the first-ever track and field athlete to win the gold medal at the Olympics, will be honoured with the Param Vashistha Seva Medal on the eve of Republic Day 2022. Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) is a military award of India.
On the eve of 73rd Republic Day celebrations, President Ram Nath Kovind has approved awards of 384 Gallantry for armed forces personnel & others. These include 12 Shaurya Chakras, 3 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 81 Sena Medals (Gallantry) & 2 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry), ANI reported.
Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal for India to become the first Indian athlete in Olympic history to win a gold medal at an event in track and field.
The 23-year-old Subedar in the Indian Army, hails from Panipat in Haryana. Neeraj won the gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games by throwing a javelin up to 82.23 meters. After this, in the Asian Athletics Championship held in 2017, he won the javelin throw gold medal for a distance of 85.23 meters.
Neeraj won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games by throwing an 86.47m javelin. He started his season with a new national record of 88.06 m in March 2021 this year before the Tokyo Olympics.