Laureus World Breakthrough of the year 2021: Neeraj Chopra nominated from India

Olympic Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra will compete for the honourable Laureus World breakthrough award among a slew of international stars.

Neeraj Chopra, India's ace javelin thrower, has been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. He won India's first-ever Olympic gold in his Olympic debut. In the men's javelin throw final at the Tokyo Games, he demolished a star-studded field with a hurl of 87.58 metres in his second try to fetch the gold medal.

Nevertheless, Chopra, who is now rated second in the world, will defend the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games crown in 2022. He'll also be aiming for his first World Championships medal later this year. However, as of now, he'll compete against some of the best athletes in the world for this distinguished honour.

"I’m delighted to be nominated for this Laureus Award. It's a great honour for me to be recognised in the wider sporting world for what I achieved in Tokyo," Chopra said.

"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 on the global stage. Also now to have this recognition from Laureus and be considered alongside such exceptional athletes is a really special feeling," he added further.

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

List of Chopra's competitors for this award are

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev of Russia won his first Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open. Afterwards, He went on to progressively solidify his control over the game. However, he recently finished as the runner-up in the Australian Open 2022.

Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu became a worldwide tennis celebrity after she won the US Open 2021 at the age of 18.

Pedri

The 19-year-old Barcelona footballer also received the honour of the best young player at the Ballon d'Or.

Yulimar Rojas

Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas broke the 26-year-old triple jump world record.

Ariarne Titmus

Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus twice beat champion Katie Ledecky at 200 and 400m in Tokyo.

Read also: Neeraj Chopra is back in training with the aim of repeating history in 2022

The nominees in each of the seven categories for this year's Laureus World Sports Awards were selected by a panel of more than 1,300 of the world's top sports writers and broadcasters. Following a vote by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the winners will be announced in April.