AMN
Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has been nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards. India’s first-ever winner of an Olympic athletics gold medal, Neeraj has been selected as one of the six nominees for the 2022 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. The other five sportspersons who have been nominated for the award are Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev, British tennis star Emma Raducanu, Barcelona and Spain footballer Pedri, Venezuelan athlete Yulimar Rojas and Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus.
24-year-old javelin thrower is only the third Indian to be nominated for the award after wrestler Vinesh Phogat in 2019 and cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, who won the Laureus Sporting Moment Award 2000-2020.
A panel of over 1,300 sports journalists and broadcasters globally selected the nominees in seven categories. The winners will be revealed in April following a vote by the Laureus World Sports Academy, made up of 71 sporting greats.
In a statement, Chopra said, he is delighted to be nominated for this Laureus Award. It’s a great honour for him to be recognized in the wider sporting world for what he achieved in Tokyo, he added.