Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who created history last year by winning India's first athletics gold medal in Olympics, was awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal on Tuesday for his distinguished service. Chopra, a Subedar with the 4 Rajputana Rifles in the Indian Army, had produced a second-round throw of 87.58m in the javelin throw finals at Tokyo Olympics in August 2021 to win the gold medal. The champion athlete has also been conferred with the Padma Shri.

The Indian Army on Tuesday released a "list of Army personnel awarded for their gallantry and distinguished service on the occasion of Republic Day 2022". Along with Chopra, 18 other serving and retired personnel of the Indian Army have been awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal.

Chopra was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2018 and Vishist Seva Medal (VSM) in 2020 for his excellence in sports. Chopra was enrolled into the 4 Rajputana Rifles as a Naib Subedar on May 15, 2016. After joining the Army, he was selected for training at the 'Mission Olympics Wing' as well as at the Army Sports Institute, Pune.

The Mission Olympics Wing is an initiative by the Indian Army to identify and train promising sportspersons in 11 disciplines for various national and international competitions.