Neeraj Chopra honoured with ''''Best Male Athlete'''' award by AFI

New Delhi (PTI): Ace Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was on Saturday honoured with the 'Best Male Athlete of the Year 2025' award at the inaugural Indian Athletics Awards ceremony here.

Chopra, who won gold at the Tokyo Games and followed it up with a silver medal in Paris, said the honour held a special place in his heart as it came in the presence of athletes from different generations.

"Yeh award dil ke nazdik hai (This award is very close to my heart). The old and new generation of athletes are here. I am very happy to have received the award in front of them," said Chopra, who flew in from Doha earlier in the day to attend the ceremony.

Chopra had competed at the Doha Diamond League on Friday night, where the 28-year-old registered a best throw of 85.69m in his third attempt to finish fourth in his season-opening event.

The star javelin thrower has been recovering from a back injury sustained before the World Championships in Tokyo in September 2025. The Doha event marked his return after an eighth-place finish at the World Championships. He has been training in Switzerland since May 25 following a rehabilitation stint in Turkiye.

However, Chopra comfortably crossed the 82.61m qualification mark set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

Chopra, who will be India's biggest medal hope at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July-August and the Asian Games in Japan in September-October, provided he remains injury-free, had a stellar 2025 season.

He breached the coveted 90m mark for the first time with a throw of 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League to finish second, topped the Paris Diamond League standings and also won the NC Classic in Bengaluru.

The Best Female Athlete of the Year award went to Parul Chaudhary, the national record holder in the 3000m steeplechase.

Earlier, legendary sprinter and Indian Olympic Association president P T Usha was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.

The Indian Athletics Awards, launched by the AFI, aim to recognise the contributions of athletes, coaches, technical officials, mentors, state associations and other stakeholders to the growth of the sport.

The inaugural edition featured 10 categories, including Best Male and Female Athlete, Best Coach, Best Technical Official, Best State Association and Lifetime Achievement Award.