Tokyo Olympics gold-medalist Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards and became the third Indian to do so. Sports Authority of India shared the massive news on its Twitter handle and further informed that gold-medalist Javelin thrower two other athletes of India have achieved this feat in the past. As per SAI, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was shortlisted in 2019 while legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar won the Laureus Sporting Moment Award 2000-2020.
Notably, Tokyo Olympics gold-medalist Neeraj Chopra is one among the six nominees for the 2022 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award alongside Britain's young tennis sensation Emma Raducanu, Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev, FC Barcelona young prodigy Pedri, Yulimar Rojas, who made headlines after breaking the 26-year-old triple jump world record, and swimmer Ariarne Titmus who displayed great performances at the Olympic Games.
After being nominated in the category 'breakthrough of the year', Neeraj Chopra took to his Twitter handle and expressed his gratitude to the Laureus World Sports Awards. Furthermore, Chopra also congratulated his fellow nominees. In an interaction with a news portal, Neeraj said, "I’m delighted to be nominated for this Laureus Award and it’s a great honour for me to be recognised in the wider sporting world for what I achieved in Tokyo. From being a kid in a small village in rural India who only took up the sport to get fit, to standing on top of an Olympic podium, it’s been quite an eventful journey so far. I feel privileged to be able to represent my country and win India medals at the global stage, and now to have this recognition from Laureus and be considered alongside such exceptional athletes is a really special feeling."