One university is home to a remarkable 24 athletes who will represent India in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Not just one or two. This university’s athletes, who range from Neeraj Chopra to Vinesh Phogat, make up 21% of the entire squad. We are speaking of the Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab, which has reached this incredible feat and surpassed Stanford University (USA) in terms of global contingent size. This accomplishment demonstrates LPU’s dedication to success in academics and athletics.
There are 117 competitors representing India in the Paris Olympics, with LPU athletes making up an astounding 21% of the total squad. These pupils are engaged in a variety of sports, such as boxing, weightlifting, shooting, hockey, javelin, and wrestling.
Neeraj Chopra (BA), the gold medallist in the men’s javelin throw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (MA Psychology), a standout weightlifter in the women’s 49 kg division, are two of the prominent LPU athletes chosen for the Paris Olympics. Captain Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Shamsher Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh (all pursuing a BA), Manpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh (MBA), and Jarmanpreet Singh are the members of the Indian Hockey Team from LPU.
Neeraj Chopra BIO DETAILS -Indian track and field athlete Subedar Major Neeraj Chopra PVSM VSM, born on December 24, 1997, is currently the world and Olympic champion in the men’s javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win gold in his event at the World Championship and the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in javelin. Chopra is the first Indian track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. He is a junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army.[6] In addition, he is the first Indian track and field athlete to win in the World Under-20 Championships. In 2016, he established a world record with his 86.48-meter throw, making history as the first athlete from India to do so.
Born in Khandra, Haryana, India, on December 24, 1997, at the age of 26, Education DAV College, Chandigarh
Height: 1.86 meters (6 feet 1 inch)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg)[2]
military service
fidelity to India
Indian Army branch and/or service
Service years: 2016–present
Rank: Major Subedar
Number of service JC-471869A [3]
Rajputana Rifles, Unit 4[4]
Honors
Medal for Param Vishisht Seva
Medal for Vishisht Seva
Athletic
Athletics: Track and field
Event: Throwing of javelins
coached by
Bartonietz, Klaus (2021–)
Hohn, Uwe (2018–2021)
IN 2024 OLYMPIC
Neeraj Chopra, the reigning champion, easily advanced to the men’s javelin throw final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by dominating the competition on Tuesday.
On his first try at the Stade de France, Neeraj broke the 84-meter direct qualification requirement with a tremendous throw of 89.34 meters. The current world champion’s throw was his second-best of his career.
The 26-year-old set a personal best in 2022 in the Stockholm Diamond League with a jump of 89.94 meters. Additionally, it is the national record for men’s javelin throw in India.
In the Paris qualification round, Neeraj Chopra also recorded his best performance of the year. He had previously placed second at the Doha Diamond League in May with a mark of 88.36 meters.
On August 8, the men’s javelin throw final is slated to happen at the same location.
Neeraj is competing in his second Olympics in Paris. He took home the gold medal in Tokyo 2020 with a throw of 87.58 meters.
Julian Weber of Germany is anticipated to provide fierce opposition for the Indian javelin champion in the championship match. On his very first attempt, Weber recorded 87.76m, meeting the direct qualification criteria. The 29-year-old’s throw was 18 cm farther than Neeraj’s, who won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the final, Grenada’s Anderson Peters, a two-time world champion, too left his mark with an incredible 88.63-meter throw on his first try.
With an 85.63-meter throw, Czech thrower Jakub Vadljech—who had defeated Neeraj by 2 cm in the Doha Diamond League earlier this year—also made it to the final. Vadljech had placed second in Tokyo with a distance of 86.67 meters.
In the meantime, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem made the final in Paris 2024 with a throw of 86.59 meters on his debut. Nadeem, the current Commonwealth Games champion, came in second to Neeraj at the 2023 World Championships.
However, Kishore Jena of India was unable to advance to the final. He was placed in Group A earlier in the day and on his first try, he made a best throw of 80.73 meters. The silver medallist at the Asian Games was only able to get 80.21 meters on his last throw after his second attempt was ruled illegal.
Jena was consequently outside the qualification slots after finishing ninth in his heat, with the top 12 athletes from both heats qualifying for the final.
