Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra has been conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army.

According to The Gazette of India, an authorised legal document of the Government of India, the appointment came into effect on April 16.

“No 3 (E) dated 9th May 2025 in exercise of the powers conferred by Para -31 of the Territorial Army Regulations, 1948, the president is pleased to confer on sEx- Sub Maj Neeraj Chopra, PVSM, Padma Shri, VSM, Village & Post Office Khandra, Panipat, Haryana with effect from 16 April, 2025,” read a statement from Major General GS Choudhry, Joint Secretary, Department of Military Affairs.

Neeraj was previously inducted into the Indian Army on the 26th of August, 2016 as a Junior Commissioned Officer with the rank of Naib Subedar.

Next stop Doha

Neeraj will spearhead the Indian challenge at the Doha Diamond League on May 16 along with javelin thrower Kishore Jena, distance runners Gulveer Singh and Parul Choudhary.

This will be Neeraj’s third successive appearance in Doha having won a silver in his previous outing. In the 2024 edition, his efforts of 88.36m fetched him a silver behind Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic, who pipped the Indian with a throw of 88.38m.

Neeraj will then head to Poland for the 71st ORLEN Janusz Kusociński Memorial on May 23 at the Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium.

The tournament includes a star-studded line up including Olympic bronze medalist Anderson Peters, European champion Julian Weber, Cyprian Mrzygłód, Dawid Wegner and national record holder Marcin Krukowski.

Neeraj was scheduled to compete in front of his home crowd on May 24 at Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium, but the Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025 was postponed due to safety concerns amidst tension between India and Pakistan.