The Central Government of India announced the awardees of the Padma awards 2022 on the eve of Republic Day. Padma awards, one of India's highest civilian awards are given in three different categories; Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. Among all the honorary awardees, 9 Indian sportspeople will be bestowed with Padma Awards 2022 for their immense contribution to sports and making the nation proud.

Devendra Jhajharia

Devendra Jhajharia has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan. The Paralympic medalist became the first Indian Paralympics player to win 2 gold medals at the Paralympics. He won his first gold medal at the 2004 games in Athens and won his second gold medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. Also, he won his third medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by bringing the silver at home.

The Padma Shri awardees:

Neeraj Chopra

Read also: "Biopic can wait, want to win more medals": Neeraj Chopra wants to stay focused

The golden boy of India, Neeraj Chopra became India's first-ever Olympic gold medalist in athletics in Tokyo Olympics 2020. The javelin thrower threw at a distance of 87.58 m in the javelin throw final of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and also brought the gold medal home. Neeraj also became the second Indian individual gold medalist after Abhinav Bindra.

Pramod Bhagat

The World No. 1 para-badminton in men's singles SL3 category, Pramod Bhagat won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He is one of the best in his field and also became the 5-time World Championships gold medalist

Avani Lekhara

Indian shooter Avani Lekhara is the first Indian woman to win 2 Paralympic medals. She won the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Position SH1 and also clinched the gold medal in the 10 m air rifle standing SH1 event in the Tokyo Paralympics.

Faisal Ali Dar

Faisal Ali Dar is a former International martial arts champion. He built a small martial arts training academy in the rural district of Bandipora, Kashmir. He trained the 7-year-old Asian Karate Gold medalist Hashim Mansoor and also the 8-year-old world kickboxing champion Tajamul Islam.

Sankaranarayanan Menon Chundayil

Sankaranarayanan Menon Chundayil is a living legend and the senior-most member of the Mudavangattil family. Mudavangattil family runs the Kalari art in Thrissur, Kerala. The 93-year-old Menon traveled around the world to promote kalaripayattu along with his disciples. He also started his family's traditional Vallabhatta centers in the US, UK, Belgium, Sri Lanka, and France.

Brahmanand Sankhwalkar

Read also: Khelo India Youth Games 2021 postponed again due to COVID-19

Brahmanand Sankhwalkar is a former captain of the Indian football team. He was one of the most renowned players during the 80s and is considered one of the greatest footballers of India even today. He had a football career of about 25 years where he played with Salgaocar for 17 years and the Goa state team in the Santosh Trophy. The former captain led the Goa team in 1983 and 1984 and also took the team to 2 consecutive wins at the Santosh Trophy. Also, he is the Indian record holder of a clean sheet of 576 minutes in the 1984 tournament.

Sumit Antil

Sumit Antil clinched the gold medal in the men's javelin throw F64 category at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Also, the Indian Paralympian is the record holder of throwing the javelin at a distance of 68.55 in the Paralympic final.

Vandana Katariya

Read also: India vs Germany Bronze medal match voted as the best hockey match of 2021

Vandana Katariya is the first Indian woman hockey player who scored a hat-trick in the Olympics. She was incredible at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and also was one of the strongest pillars of the team to reach the semi-finals in the history of the tournament. Also, she helped the team to win against South Africa 4-3.

Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is set to return to Paris for his second Diamond League meet of the year, scheduled for June 20th on Stade Charlety stadium in Paris, France.

Also Read: Watch: Neeraj Chopra finishes second with a best throw of 84.14m at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial competition

Fourth competition of the year

Neeraj will continue his Paris Diamond League 2025 season after a magnificent start in Doha last month, where he achieved his first-ever 90m throw, attaining a distance of 90.23m to finish second. He finished second behind Germany’s Julian Weber, who threw a world-leading 91.06m.

This will be his fourth competition of the year, and he will be aiming to return to the top of the podium after missing out on the last two events in Qatar and Poland.

Paris Diamond League 2025 will be Neeraj's first competition of the month, which will be followed by the Ostrava Golden Spike, a World Athletics Continental Gold meet, in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 24th. Neeraj Chopra has a busy month ahead as he will return to India within 10 days after these two events to compete in the nation's first-ever javelin-only meet, the NC Classic, in Bengaluru on July 5th.

Neeraj skipped 2024 edition to prepare for Paris Olympics

Neeraj was expected to compete at the 2024 edition but skipped the meet to prepare for the Paris Olympics. Neeraj’s most recent outing came at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial in Chorzów, Poland, on May 23. Battling wet conditions, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion produced a best of 84.14m on his final attempt to finish second. Weber, once again, claimed top spot with an 86.12m attempt.

Neeraj Chopra started his 2025 athletics season in April by winning the Potch Invitational Meet in Potchefstroom, South Africa, with an 84.52m throw. He is also in the entry list for the Golden Spike athletics meet in Czechia scheduled on June 24 and will headline the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru on July 5.

Also Read: List of athletes to participate in Neeraj Chopra Classic

The top javelin throw athletes with the most points at the end of the Diamond League series will qualify for the 2025 Diamond League Final to be held in Zurich on August 27-28. Neeraj won the 2022 edition of the Doha Diamond League but had to settle for second-place finishes in 2023 and 2024.

Neeraj Chopra finished second with a best throw of 84.14m at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial competition at Silesian Stadium in Poland on Friday.

Julian Weber finished first with an 86.12m throw.

Though the double-time Olympic medalist looked disappointed and frustrated after a few foul throws to start with, his fourth year in in top two of every tournament he participated in continued.

Read Also | Neeraj Chopra’s best throws: Here are all the top throws by javelin ace Neeraj Chopra

A few days ago, Neeraj had breached the 90m mark and registered his personal best and National record with a 90.23m throw in the Doha Diamond League. Unfortunately, even in that tournament also he finished second to Julian Weber's 91.06m throw. 

Wherever Neeraj Chopra goes, he does not return empty-handed. This series started in 2016 when this rising star made a record for the first time at the Under-20 World Athletics Championships. From that day itself, we got a glimpse of the future to come, in which many records were to be made and broken one after the other.

On Friday night of 16 May, Neeraj maintained the same trend in Doha Diamond League 2025 and got his name registered in history, becoming the first Indian to breach the 90m mark in the sport. So, it's time we take a look at every Neeraj Chopra records that he has made in his tremendous career so far.

Also Read: Neeraj Chopra’s best throws: Here are all the top throws by javelin ace Neeraj Chopra

Every Neeraj Chopra records you should know

• First Indian to breach the 90m mark: Neeraj Chopra’s best throw is 90.23m, achieved at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, 2025. The mark stands as the men’s national record in India and Neeraj Chopra’s personal best. It was the first time an Indian had breached the 90m-mark in the javelin.
• First Indian to win Olympic medal in athletics: At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Neeraj Chopra produced a historic performance in the men's javelin throw event. Neeraj won the gold medal in the final with a throw of 87.58m, giving India its first Olympic medal in athletics. With this win, Neeraj Chopra also became the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track and field event at the Olympics.
• First Indian to win silver at World Athletics Championships: Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a historic silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. He recorded a throw of 88.13m in his fourth attempt to claim the second spot. Chopra thus is the first Indian to win a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships and only the second medallist from the country after Anju Bobby George in 2003.
• First Indian track and field athlete to win world championship: Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. With this win, the then 18-year-old Neeraj became the first Indian track and field athlete to become a world champion in any event and any age level.
• First Indian World Record holder in track & field: Neeraj Chopra Threw 86.48m at the junior championships in Poland to win the title. With this, he set the new under-20 world record, beating the 84.69m mark established by the previous holder, Latvia's Zigismunds Sirmais. Neeraj’s 86.48m attempt at Bydgoszcz still stands as both the U20 world record as well as the U20 Asian record in the javelin throw.
• Indian national javelin throw record holder: Neeraj Chopra’s best attempt to date came at the Stockholm Diamond League 2022 in Sweden on June 30, 2022, where he managed his personal best of 89.94m to establish the new national record.
• First Indian to win javelin throw gold at Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian javelin thrower to win a gold medal at the Asian Games. Before him, Gurtej Singh was the only men’s javelin thrower from the country to win a medal – bronze at the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games. Neeraj threw  88.06m to claim the 2018 Asian Games title.
• First Indian to win a Diamond League meet: Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a Diamond League meet after he topped the field in Lausanne in 2022. With a depleted field that had world champion Anderson Peters missing, the Indian comfortably led the charts with an 89.08m throw, in his first attempt. 
• First Indian to become Diamond League champion: Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian athlete in history to clinch the Diamond League trophy, by winning the Zurich Diamond League 2022 Final. The Indian ace recorded a best throw of 88.44m to beat Tokyo 2020 silver medallist and 2016 champion Jakub Vadlejch to the title.
• First Indian to become world champion: Neeraj Chopra became India's first world champion after he clinched the gold medal in the men's javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest with an effort of 88.17m. It was Neeraj Chopra's second straight medal at the world championships after his silver at Oregon 2022.

Also Read: India at Olympics: India's Olympic medal tally by every edition

Neeraj Chopra Records: Best throws at major competitions

Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra bettered his throw of 89.94m with a season-best throw of 90.23m at the at the Doha Diamond League 2025. After this, he became the first Indian to breach the 90m mark in the sport.

Read Also: Every Neeraj Chopra Records You Should Know 

Despite the historic achievement, Chopra missed out on the top podium spot at the Doha Diamond League, where Germany’s Julian Weber stole the show with a massive throw. Chopra’s previous best was 89.94m, set on June 30, 2022, at the Stockholm Diamond League — a mark that stood as both his personal best and the men’s national record.

Neeraj achieved his target

• Neeraj Chopra’s best throw is 90.23m, achieved at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, 2025. The mark stands as the men’s national record in India and Neeraj Chopra’s personal best.
• The second-best throw of Neeraj Chopra's career is 89.94m. Neeraj had thrown this throw in the Stockholm Diamond League on 30 June 2022. This throw is a national record and one of Neeraj Chopra's best throws.
• Neeraj Chopra's third-best throw of 89.49m came at the Lausanne Diamond League 2024This is Chopra's best throw ever at a global championship and his third-best overall.
• Neeraj Chopra's fourth-best throw in javelin throw came at Paris Olympics 2024 where he bagged the silver medal with an 89.45m throw. 
• His fifth best throw came in Paavo Nurmi Games in 2022 where he went close to that 90m mark once again.
• In the Lausanne Diamond League 2022, held in the month of August, Neeraj Chopra had thrown the sixth-best throw of his career. Neeraj had thrown the javelin 89.08 meters.
• Neeraj's seventh-best throw came in the Asian Games 2023 held in Hangzhou. In this round, Neeraj had achieved a distance of 88.88m.
• Neeraj Chopra's eighth-best throw came in the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest. In this competition which was held on August 25, 2023, Neeraj showed excellent performance and achieved a distance of 88.77m.
  

Also Read: India at Olympics: India's Olympic medal tally by every edition

Hello and welcome to the LIVE blog of Doha Diamond League 2025, where the largest Indian contingent in terms of numbers at any single Diamond League meet to date is going to perform. 

Double Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra will take part in the men's javelin event. Kishore Jena will be the second Indian to participate in that event.

Read Also | NEERAJ CHOPRA INJURY: A SAGA OF STRAIN, TECHNIQUE, AND RECOVERY

In the men's 5000m, Gulveer Singh will compete for India. Meanwhile, Parul Chaudhary will compete in the Women's 3000m steeplechase event. 

This is Koushik Biswas, who will bring you all the LIVE updates, results and commentary of the Doha Diamond League 2025 for you. So, stay tuned and enjoy the coverage.