Neeraj Chopra set to have Army stadium named after him in Pune

Neeraj Chopra, a Naik Subedar in the Indian Army who won gold in the javelin competition in the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics, had himself trained at the Army Sports Institute.

Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, who took the nation by storm after his heroics in the javelin throw event at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, is set to have a stadium renamed after him. The athletics stadium on the campus of the Southern Command's Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune will be named after the star athlete.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Pune's Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) and Army Sports Institute (ASI) on August 23 and will name a facility after Olympic javelin gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, officials said on Friday.

A release from the Defence PRO said Singh, during his visit to Army Sports Institute, is likely to name the stadium in the campus as ''Neeraj Chopra Army Sports Institute, Pune Cantonment''.

Notably, 23-year-old Chopra, a Naik Subedar in the Army who won gold in the javelin competition in the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics, had himself trained at the ASI.

"The stadium is of international standard where all athletes are trained every daily. We have improved the facility recently. Since the stadium is not named after any prominent figure, we thought to name it after Neeraj Chopra as the best gift on his first visit to the ASI after winning the Olympic Gold medal," an army officer said.

As per the release, Rajnath Singh will felicitate 16 Olympians from the Services during his visit to ASI, apart from addressing troops and sportsmen training at the premier facility.