Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won a gold in the Asian Games last year with a record throw, has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Khel Ratna Award by the Athletics Federation of India.
The 21-year-old Neeraj, one of the very few world class track and field athletes India currently has, was awarded the Arjuna Award last year after he won a gold in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
He was also nominated for the Khel Ratna Award last year but was considered only for the Arjuna Award. After his gold-winning feat at the Asian Games last year with a national record throw of 88.06m, the AFI has re-nominated him for the Khel Ratna Award for this year.
"Neeraj Chopra has been re-nominated by the AFI this time also. He is the only one recommended for Khel Ratna from athletics," a top source told on condition of anonymity.
Five other track and field athletes have been nominated for Arjuna Awards. They are Asian Games gold winners Tejinder Pal Singh Toor (shot put), Arpinder Singh (triple jump), Manjit Singh (800m) and Swapna Barman (heptathlon), as well as Dutee Chand (silver in 100m and 200m).