Neeraj Chopra nominated for Laureus sports award
India’s Tokyo Olympics hero Neeraj Chopra has been nominated for the Laureus Sports Awards in the ‘Breakthrough of the Year’ category. Javelin thrower Chopra, the first Indian to win Olympic gold in athletics, will be pitted against some of the world’s other top young athletes, including tennis stars Daniil Medvedev and Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champions.
The others nominated in the category are 19-year-old Spanish footballer Pedri, Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas and Australian teen swimming queen Ariarne Titmus.
The 23-year-old Chopra upstaged an Olympic field led by German favourite Johannes Vetter. He led from his first throw and a 87.58m effort on the second attempt assured victory.
Medvedev, the world No 2 who lost to Rafael Nadal in an epic five-set final at the Australian Open on Sunday, had a splendid run last year, winning his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open by beating Novak Djokivic in the final. Briton Raducanu has been hailed as a tennis sensation after becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam, without dropping a set, at 18.
Rojas broke a 26-year-old world record to win the triple jump at the Tokyo Olympics. Titmus, 20, won Olympic gold in the 200m and 400m freestyle, overshadowing the US great Katie Ledecky. Titmus also won silver in 800m freestyle.
Midfielder Pedri was won the 2021 Golden Boy award, becoming the first Barcelona player since Lionel Messi in 2005 to win the coveted prize given to the best young player in Europe.
He won the Copa del Rey and played a major role in Spain’s run to the semi-finals at Euro 2020, where he was named Young Player of the Tournament.
“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 in a statement.
“From being a kid in a small village in rural India who only took up 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 at the global stage, and now to have this recognition from Laureus and be considered alongside such exceptional athletes is a really special feeling," said Chopra, who became only the second Indian, after shooter Abhinav Bindra, to win an individual Olympic gold.
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat and Sachin Tendulkar have been nominated in different categories. Tendulkar won the Laureus Sporting Moment Award 2000-2020 when fans worldwide voted for Tendulkar being carried on their shoulders by teammates after the 2011 World Cup win in Mumbai. Phogat was nominated in the Comeback of the Year category in 2019.
The World Sportsman of the Year Award nominees are NFL’s greatest quarterback Tom Brady - he just retired - Bayern Munich’s prolific goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski, Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, 20-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, swimmer Caeleb Dressel, who won five gold in Tokyo, and Eliud Kipchoge, who won back-to-back Olympic marathon titles.
The Sportswoman of the Year category will be a race between track greats, Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah and American Allyson Felix as well as swimmers Emma McKeon of Australia and Katie Ledecky.
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.
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